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C0EVRIGHT DEPOSIT. 






The Message 



and the 



Message-Bearer 



1 



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The Message 



and the 



Message-Bearer 



10^3 



Setting forth in simple form / % 5/ 

The teachings of the Word of God and the character 

of the people who should make this 

message known to the world 



Published under the auspices of the 

MISSION COMMITTEE 

of the 
Mennonite Board of Missions and Charities 



"The entrance of thy words giveth light." 



MENNONITE PUBLISHING HOUSE 
Scottdale - - - Penna. 

1919 







Copyright, 1919 
By Mennontte Publishing House 

Scottdale, Pa. 



©CI.A536857 



/U fr 



j 




PREFACE 



This is the second in a series of books written 
for use in mission study classes or in other circles 
devoted to the great cause of carrying the Gospel of 
Christ into all the world. It was conceived and 
written under the conviction that the two important 
things in connection with obedience to our Savior's 
great command to "preach the gospel to every crea- 
ture" are a full-Gospel message and a fully con- 
secrated and enlightened message-bearer; a message 
embracing "all things whatsoever" Christ command- 
ed us to do, and message-bearers who are living 
examples of what the miracle of God's grace will do 
for fallen man. 

We trust that every reader will get the full 
force of the message. Let the words of our Master, 
"Teach all nations. .. .to observe all things whatso- 
ever I have commanded you," keep ringing in our 
ears. And let us not lose sight of our great duty to 
keep this message ringing in the ears of others. As 
the character of the message-bearer usually gives 
the hearer an idea of the character of the message, it 
is of highest importance that the messengers of the 
"glad tidings of salvation" show by their lives and 
labors that they believe in the message which they 
bring to others. 

We acknowledge our indebtedness to members 
of our Publishing Committee and others who have 



4 THE MESSAGE 

so generously assisted in preparing this volume, and 
we s,end it forth with the prayer that it may be the 
means in the hands of God to awaken many a soul 
to purer motives, more earnest living, and faithful 
service. Mission Committee. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 

PART I— THE MESSAGE 

Chapters Page 
I. The Creation 11 

IT. Man 19 

III. The Bible 32 

IV. The Bible (Continued) 43 
V. The Church 49 

VI. The Plan of Salvation 59 

VII. Christian Ordinances 70 

VIII. Bible Restrictions 82 

IX. The Blessed Hope 93 

PART II— THE MESSAGE-BEARER 

I The Call 107 

II. Qualifications (Natural) 116 

III. Qualifications (Spiritual) 124 

IV. The Holy Life 131 
V. Helps and Hindrances 139 

VI. Concluding Thoughts for 

Missionaries 150 



PART I 



THE MESSAGE 



WHAT SHALL OUR MESSAGE BE? 

Every child of God shares in the responsibility 
enjoined upon us in our Savior's great commission 
to the Chrsitian Church : "Go ye into all the world, 
and preach the Gospel to every creature." 

What shall we preach? "The Gos»pel," is Christ's 
reply. What is the Gospel? "All things whatsoever 
I have commanded you" (Matt. 28:19 cf. Mark 16: 
15). Briefly stated, our mission is to teach "every 
creature" among "all nations'' to observe everything 
which Christ taught His followers to do. The Gos- 
pel of Christ is the LIVING MESSAGE which the 
Christian Church is commanded to proclaim in every 
land and to all people. Every intelligent being- 
should know : 

1. That God created man in His own image — 
pure, intelligent, happy, holy. 

2. That this image was lost in the fall of man, 
since which time unregenerate man has been sinful, 
estranged from God, depraved, hopelessly lost except 
through the redemption w r hich God provided in His 
Son. 

3. That the Bible is the one and only Book 
through which God revealed to earth the mysteries 
of heaven ; that it is inspired of God, inerrant, abso- 
lutely reliable in all its parts. 

4. That the Christian Church is God's organ- 
ization of the present dispensation designed to be 
the earthly home of God's people. 



io THE MESSAGE 

5. That Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church, 
God in the flesh, the Author of our salvation, our 
Savior and Lord, the coming King. 

6. That they who have accepted Christ as 
Savior and Lord have been redeemed from sin and 
are walking in "newness of life. ,, 

7. That they who live a sinning life thereby 
reveal that they have either never been saved or 
have fallen aAvay. 

8. That all of our Savior's commandments were 
given to be literally observed by all believers. 

9. That Jesus Christ will come again to receive 
to Himself the saved and to bring judgment upon 
the lost. 

10. That there will be a general resurrection of 
both just and unjust. 

11. That the unrighteous will go "into everlast- 
ing punishment; but the righteous into life eternal.' 4 



CHAPTER I 
THE CREATION 

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 
— *Gen. 1:1. 

AH things were made by him; and without him was 
not anything made that was made. — Jno. 1 13. 

All ideas of the creation cluster around two great 
centers : the natural and the super-natural. 

The first accounts for everything from natural 
causes, and miracles are recognized as merely won- 
derful natural occurrences. Applying this line of 
reasoning to the creation, it does not admit of the 
creation or formation of anything by the immediate 
act of a personal God but accounts for the coming 
into existence of all things or beings through the 
operation of natural laws or causes. According to 
this theory the earth, instead of being called into 
being and form through the Word of an Omnipotent 
Being, was brought to its present form through the 
operation of Nature's laws covering a period of per- 
haps millions of years,; man, instead of being created 
by an immediate act of God, was evolved from the 
lower forms of life and after countless centuries of 
development and finally appeared to view as an in- 
telligent being, making and recording history. Evolu- 
tion, in some form, is the hypothesis upon which the 
adherents of this mode of reasoning base their con- 
clusions. 

Those who believe in the super-natural recognize 



12 THE MESSAGE 

God as the Creator of all things, believe in His 
miracle-working power, and point to such occur- 
rences as the great flood in the days of Noah, the 
dividing of the waters of the Read Sea and of Jordan, 
the falling of Jericho, and the raising of Lazarus as 
evidence that God does at times set aside the ordi- 
nary course of Nature for purposes which we may or 
may not understand. Applying this theory of the 
miracle-working power of God to the creation, we 
see all things brought into existence through the 
Word of His mouth, the world formed out of noth- 
ing, Adam created out of the dust of the earth, the 
touch of God's infinite power and wisdom transform- 
ing a rib of man into a woman, all forms of animal 
and vegetable life called into being through the im- 
mediate act of God. 

Turning to Genesis, we find the most striking 
evidences of the super-natural in the creation. Here 
are a number of things, which could not be true if 
there were nothing supernatural or super-human 
about the creation : 

"In the beginning, God created the heaven and 
the earth" (1:1). 

"And God said, Let there be light, and there was 
light" (1:3). 

"And God created. .. .every living creature that 
moveth" (1:21). 

"And the Lord God formed man of the dust of 
the earth" (2:7). 

"And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall 
upon Adam, and he stept: and he took one of his 
ribs, and closed up the flesh thereof; and the rib, 
which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a 



THE CREATION 13 

woman, and brought her unto the man" (2:21,22). 
' None of these events can be explained from 
natural causes. We are confronted with one of two 
conclusions,: (1) If this narrative is not reliable, 
then we must at once discard the doctrine that all of 
the Bible is God's inspired Word, and absolutely re- 
liable. (2) If it is reliable, then we must reject as 
untrue everything which conflicts with it. As the 
authority of the Bible as God's Word will be con- 
sidered in another chapter we shall not discuss if 
here. 

Men have said much about the harmony which 
exists between science and the Bible. We readily 
admit that there can be no conflict between the Bible 
and science. The Bible is God's Word, and "it is 
impossible for God to lie." Science is truth. Since 
both are truth, they can not but be in agreement in 
every detail. And by this logic we must conclude 
that whatever comes in the name of science that can 
not be harmonized with the Bible must be classed as 
"science, falsely socalled." 

The greatest mistake made by naturalists and 
other scientists is that of arriving at conclusions in- 
dependent of (and often in spite of) what the Bible 
has to say concerning things along the line of their 
researches. They study the archives of ancient na- 
tions, and are sure that there were at least partly 
civilized nations on the earth many thousands of 
years before the time that the Bible says the first 
man was created. They search the rocks, collect 
antiquated fossils, compare notes with others of their 
kind, and conclude that there was life on the earth 
millions of years ago. They examine the protoplasm 



i 4 THE MESSAGE 

from which springs the life of humans, animals, and 
plants, and conclude that all must have had a com- 
mon origin. They study the ape, the "missing link/' 
their first and second cousin's, and establish beyond 
the possibility of a doubt (in their own minds) that 
the monkey tribe has the probable distinction of 
being the immediate predecessor of man. After they 
have established (?) these (isupposed-to-be) facts, 
they (sometimes) compare their conclusions with 
what the Bible teaches relative to these matters. 
Some of them do not hesitate to pronounce the Bible 
an unreliable book, while others make desperate ef- 
forts to prove that the Bible is in harmony with these 
conclusions which flatly contradict it on a number of 
points, even quoting Bible to prove that the Bible 
does not always mean what it says. Result: two 
kinds of unbelievers — one that rejects the Bible en- 
tirely, the other pretending to believe the Bible while 
at the same time trying to discredit its message. 

The mistake made by honest scientists is caused 
by the fact that they have at best but a partial knowl- 
edge upon which to base their calculations. Of no 
man is it true, as it is of God, that he knows, every- 
thing. We respect the men who spend their whole 
lives along special lines, making researches and dis- 
coveries in addition to those who in preceding gen- 
erations had given their lives to the same cause, and 
we readily admit that they know more in a minute 
about the things which they made a specialty than 
we do in a month ; but we draw the line on the con- 
clusion that therefore their conclusions are more re- 
liable than the Bible, which is the revealed Word of 
God. Socrates, Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, Herschel, 



THE CREATION 15 

Humboldt, Spencer, Darwin, Huxley, Edison, and 
other great thinkers were marvels along their respec- 
tive lines,, but who is there who pretends that they 
knew even a small fractional part of what God knows 
about the things which they spent a whole life time 
in trying to find out? And who is there who does 
not admit of the possibility of the most scholarly 
men, limited as they are in powers of mind and 
thought and knowledge, making the worst kinds of 
mistakes in their conclusions? 

One illustration will help to impress us with the 
fallibility of scholarly man. There was a time when 
scientists had unanswerable argument that the world 
was flat. "If the world turn over/' they argued, 
"why don't men fall off?" They were perfectly 
logical in their conclusions. In their day nothing was 
known of the law of gravitation, and if men had 
ever sailed around the earth it was so long ago that 
all men had forgotten it. What was more reasonable, 
therefore, in the light of the knowledge of their day, 
than the conclusion that the world was flat. Only 
an ignoramus or a dreamer could consistently venture 
to dispute what practically everybody believed to be 
a fact. But well established as this theory was, it 
took only a few later discoveries to discredit it. Had 
they known of men who sailed around the globe, and 
had they known anything of gravitation, there would 
not have been a single intelligent man to believe the 
theory. But they did not know; therefore they 
seemed perfectly logical in their error. In a similar 
way have many theories, that one generation believed 
to be absolutely true, proven to be erroneous by the 
revelations of the succeeding generation. The scien- 



16 THE MESSAGE 

tists were honest enough, and their logic was blame- 
less; but they based their conclusions upon partial 
knowledge, which accounts for their errors. 

In the light of this it is not surprising to find 
one generation of scientists hold to certain "proven" 
theories as "facts/' only to have another generation 
of scientists discover them to be anything but facts. 
The man who s'aid that any work on science over ten 
ye&rs of age is out of date may have overstated a 
truth, but he hit a very vital spot Which critics of the 
Bible should not fail to remember. Not until men 
recognize that in God alone is knowledge that is 
complete and infallible will they cease making in- 
vestigations independent of the Bible and hold to 
theories which the Bible positively contradicts. 

This brings us to the only logical and safe con- 
clusion that can be reached : Since the Bible is God's 
Word, and since it is "impossible for God to lie," the 
Bible should be considered as final and absolute 
authority in all its teachings, the great arbiter in 
every time of dispute or doubt. 

Applying this rule to the creation, we accept 
without question the Genesis account of this great 
work of God. We may not be able to understand 
all its details, but we are not mistaken in the belief 
that the creation was, wrought at the hands of a 
personal and miracle-working God who called heaven 
and earth into existence and set the universe in order 
as described in the first and second chapters of 
Genesis. Any one who accepts modifications in and 
deviations from this inspired account, believing rath- 
er the development or evolutionary theory, falls an 



THE CREATION 17 

easy victim to the enemies of the Bible who profess 
to have the faculty of giving superior light. Accept 
the Genesis account of the creation as being literally 
true, and discard everything that teaches to the con- 
trary. 

The magnitude and glory of the creation leads 
us to magnify and reverence and glorify the Creator. 
Behold Him at the beginning of time, speaking the 
word, and all heaven and earth sprang into existence. 
"Let there be light," rang out throughout the uni- 
verse, and heaven and earth were lit up with the 
glorious light of God. At His word the waters were 
divided from the dry land, the lower forms of life 
ai>peared, animals were created, and finally man, as 
the crowning work of God's creation, came into 
being. God breathed into his nostrils the breath of 
life, "and man became a living soul." "And God 
looked upon all that he had made, and, behold, all 
was very good." 

This, was in the beginning. Ever since that time 
has God manifested His majesty, goodness, and pow- 
er. And His greatness will be still further revealed 
when at the end of time He will speak the word 
whidh will assemble the hosts of God into His ever- 
lasting presence and the wicked banished forever 
from Him and cast into the "everlasting burnings." 
Blessed be God for His bountiful blessings upon the 
children of men. We look at His creation, and are 
'filled with wonder, love, and praise." We look at the 
Creator, and we worship Him as Lord and King. 
We behold the creation, look at the Creator, and 
exclaim with the psalmist, "Great is the Lord." 



18 THE MESSAGE 

Questions 

1. What two general views of the creation are 
held by man? 

2. Compare the Genesis account of the creation 
with the evolutionary view of the same event. 

3. Are the revelations of science a help or a 
hindrance to the understanding of God's Word? a 
help or a hindrance in establishing, in the minds of 
men, the Bible as God's Word? Give reasons for 
your answer? 

4. What rule should be observed in the study of 
doubtful points or problems? 

5. Tell, in your own language, the story of the 
creation. 

6. What benefits do you derive from the study 
of the creation? 



CHAPTER II 
MAN 

God created man in his own image. — Gen. 1 127. 
What is man, that thou art mindful of him? — Psa. 8:4. 
God made man upright; but they have sought out 
many inventions. — Eccl. 7:29. 

As we follow man through the successive stages 
of his career, we are made to exclaim with the psalm- 
ist, "What is man, that thou art mindful of him?" 
Created in the image of God, man fell into the lowest 
depths of degradation and sin. And it is this fallen 
creature upon whom God bestows the most abundant 
honors. "God commendeth his love toward us, in 
that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." 
To meditate upon all that God has done for His un- 
worthy creatures, helps us to appreciate His goodness 
and love. To this end let us study man as he appears 
in Scripture, under four different heads: Creation, 
Fall. Redemption, Eternal Destiny. 

I. The Creation 

The inspired record of the creation makes man 
the climax. God had created the massive whale, the 
mighty lion, the fleet-footed gazelle, and other ani- 
mals superior to man along other lines; but as yet 
He had not created any being that bore His own 
image. So "God created man in his own image/' 
endued him with an intellect which made him the 
master of the animal kingdom, and set him in domin- 



20 THE MESSAGE 

ion over all the earth. Whatever may be said of man 
bearing the physical image of God, it is evident that 
it is the spiritual image to which this refers. In 
physical form man is not far removed from the lower 
animals ; but in the attributes of mind and soul man 
bears the image of God. When Paul speaks of "being 
changed into the same image" he speaks, of a change 
which is in no way related to the physical form, but 
a change which means a renewal "after the image of 
him that created him." With this conception of man 
being in the image of God, let us study him as God 
created him. The child of God is a finite being shin- 
ing in the image of the infinite God in the following 
traits and characteristics: 

1. Intelligence. — The fact that Adam was able 
to give names to all the beasts of the field (some- 
thing which the most learned man of the present time 
is unable to do) proves him to have been a man of 
the highest order of intelligence. It is through the 
intelligence of man, not his physical strength, that 
he is enabled to exercise dominion over all the earth. 

2. Purity.— Not until man yielded to temptation 
and fell into sin was there any impurity about him. 
Being without sin, he was, holy as God is holy. 

3. Happiness. — In the midst of the beautiful 
paradise of God, surrounded by all manner of food 
and all manner of scenes that were beautiful to be- 
hold, having perfect peace with God and harmony 
with all his surroundings, pure and holy, enjoying 
the presence and fellowship of both Creator and 
creature, who can doubt the perfect happiness of 
primitive man? 

4. Immortality. — Death came into the world be- 



MAN 21 

cause of sin (Rom. 5:12,19), making it clear that 
without the advent of sin there would have been no 
death. Of the immortality of the soul we shall speak 
in a later portion of this chapter. 

5. Sociability. — When God said, "It is not good 
that the man should be alone," He not only uttered 
an important truth pertaining to the marriage rela- 
tion but called attention to a fundamental trait of 
man's being. At the foundation of sociability is 
human sympathy. It is the tie that binds and makes 
us mutually helpful to one another here — a foretaste 
of the bond of fellowship which will weld us, together 
into one great, unified, glorified body in heaven. 

6. Worship. — Man is a worshipful being In 
rigiit relationship with God, he worships the Creator. 
Fallen into sin, he worships idols in some form. 
There never was a human soul that was devoid of 
worship. Man worships — either the God of heaven, 
or one or more of the numerous gods of earth. There 
is a spirit of devotion about man — and when this 
reverence and devotion is centered in God it makes 
him pious, pure, holy, heavenly minded. 

7. There is one trait in man, Christian man, in 
which he does not resemble his Maker, and that is 
his liability to fall. The fact that perfect man is 
beset with this liability is proven in the case of 
Adam's fall. So long as we are in the flesh we are 
human and liable to err. But even in this we have 
an example in Christ who, though tempted in all 
points as man is tempted, taught us how to resist 
temptation and maintain our purity before God. 
May we learn a lesson from Him in the matter of 
resisting temptation in the power of the Most High, 



2t THE MESSAGE 

knowing that when we reach the world to come we 
shall be like God in that there it will be no longer 
possible for us to fall. 

II. The Fall 

Man in the fall is as low, degraded, wretched, 
hopeless, and helpless as he was exalted, pure, happy, 
and glorious before the fall. The sicene of the fall is 
in the garden of Eden. The process of man's fall is 
similar to every temptation and consequent yielding 
at the present time. For this reason we have a valu- 
able object lesson in the experience of Mother Eve. 
Here are the step's in the fall as set forth in Genesis,: 

1. Eve, happy and contented, pure and sinless, 
about her daily duties. 

2. The tempter, appearing first in the role of an 
humble questioner and later as an angel of light 

3. Attention called to a restriction laid upon the 
life of Adam and Eve. 

4. A lie, made to appear plausible by misapplied 
truth. 

5. Doubting God's Word, being fascinated by 
false hope of greater freedom and knowledge. 

6. Closing eyes to truth, reaching forth the 
hand in search of something to better conditions. 

7. Sin and death — according to the word of the 
Lord. 

The only difference between this and other sins 
committed is a difference between circumstances and 
details. God's truth, Satan's lie, and man's blindness 
in supposing the devil's, lie to be preferable to God^s 
truth, figure in every transgression. "There is a way 



MAN 



<23 



that seemeth right unto a man; but the end thereof 
are the ways of death." 

The results of the fall are plainly taught in the 
Word and plainly seen on every hand. Here are a 
few of them: 

1. "Sin entered into the world, and death by 
sin" (Rom. 5:12). 

2. "Death passed upon all men" (Rom. 5:12). 

3. "Mind and conscience defiled" (Tit. 1 :15). 

4. "Heart of man deceitful .... and desperately 
wicked" (Jer. 17:9). 

5. A great curse (Gen. 3:14, 17, 18). 

6. An awful bondage (II Tim. 2:26). 

7. "Turned into hell" (Psa. 9:17). 

8. "Everlasting punishment" (Matt. 25:46). 

Scores of scriptural references could be quoted 
in support of either of the above results. The Bible 
is full of evidence teaching the degradation, sinful- 
ness, unworthiness, and pending doom of fallen man. 
Nor need we confine ourselves to the testimony of 
Scripture to prove the depravity and utter unworthi- 
ness of man. We have only to open our eyes and 
look upon a sin-stained world, and the Bible story of 
the utter depravity of fallen man is confirmed. As a 
further light on this, subject, let us compare this 
present evil world with Gen. 1 :31 : 

1. "And God saw everything that he had made, 
and, behold, it was very good." 

2. A world miserably spoiled by sin, where 
iniquity abounds — lying, hatred, murder, covetous- 
ness, lust, poverty, filth, profanity, and sins without 
number. 

The condition of sinful man is thus summed up 



24 THE MESSAGE 

in Paul's letter to the Ephesians: "We all had our 
conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, 
fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and 

were by nature the children of wrath.. without 

Christ, being aliens, from the commonwealth of Is- 
rael, the strangers from the covenants of promise, 
having no hope, and without God in the world" (Eph. 
2:3,12). 

The unworthiness of man is further shown in a 
recital of what Cod has done for man and what man 
did in return: 

1. God created man in His own image — pure, 
holy, happy, provided with unlimited, means for bod- 
ily and spiritual sustenance. Man believed Satan 
rather than God, shamefully forfeited the grace of 
God, and fell into sin and death. 

2. As God faithfully conveyed to man a knowl- 
edge of what he had done, He coupled this with the 
promise of a Redeemer. The first child born to man 
was a murderer. 

3. When man had hopelessly sunken into the 
lowest depths of sin, God graciously gave him an- 
other chance through Noah. Soon after his release 
from the ark Noah fell into the sin of drunkenness, 
and his posterity needed only to become strong 
enough in numbers till they became so wicked and 
defiant that God had to scatter them to the four 
winds of the earth in a confusion of tongues. 

4. In Abraham God gave man another chance; 
but the history of Israel shows how little this mani- 
festation of the grace of God was appreciated. 

5. When God searched among men to find any 
one who was righteous and who followed after Him 



MAN 25 

He had no other alternative but to confess that "there 
is none righteous, no, not one. . . .for all have sinned, 
and come short of the glory of God." 

6. "But God commendeth his love toward us, in 
that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." 

III. Redemption 

The question naturally arises, What did God see 
in a creature so utterly unworthy as man, that He did 
and is still continuing to do so much for him? We 
sometimes sing — 

"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound 
That saved a wretch like me." 

Yes, it is amazing; but God's all-seeing eye be- 
held something in man that man himself overlooks. 
The utter depravity of fallen man does not change 
the fact that this fallen creature once bore the image 
of God, and that the grace of God is powerful enough 
to restore him to the same image. Fallen man, 
though totally depraved, possesses qualities which 
make him the peer of all the lower animals and which 
by the grace of God may still be used to His glory 
provided he responds, to God's love and accepts the 
operation of the miracle of God's grace in the soul. 
And God alone, in whose infinite mind the plan of 
creation was conceived, was also capable of conceiv- 
ing a perfect plan of salvation. Thank God that 
there is a way whereby this most degraded of all 
creatures may again be redeemed and restored to 
favor and fellowship of God, shining in His image. 

In this connection it is well to notice the great 
contrast between the plan of God and the numerous 



26 THE MESSAGE 

plans conceived in the human mind. Good works, 
moral worth or character, intellect, wealth, and scores 
of other human inventions have been put forward as 
claims to merit the favor of God. But God looks to 
something more enduring. Isaiah says, "All our 
righteousnesses are as filthy rags." Paul says of 
human sacrifices that they "can never make the com- 
ers thereunto perfect." Christ compared the self- 
righteous Pharisee (with a long string of virtues to 
his credit) with the poor publican (whose only peti- 
tion was that the Lord might be merciful to him a 
sinner) and said that the publican's standing was the 
better of the two. There is absolutely no merit about 
man apart from God — no enduring value about his 
wealth, no saving virtue about his morals, no endur- 
ing fame in his achievements, nothing that can in 
any way enhance his chances before God. Since "all 
have sinned/ 1 the edict, "The soul that sinneth it shall 
die," is, written against all men. "Without hope and 
without God in the world," sinful man is doomed to 
face eternity in a lost, helpless, hopeless condition, 
for "the wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the 
nations that forget God." 

Is there no hope? Yes; God has provided a 
means of escape — "Behold the Lamb of God, which 
taketh away the sin of the world." "God so loved 
the world, that he gave his, only begotten Son, that 
whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have 
everlasting life." "If we walk in the light as he is in 
the light, we shall have fellowship one with another, 
and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us 
from all sin." "By one offering he hath perfected 
forever them that are sanctified." In Jesus Christ 



MAN 27 

there is hope for every believer, for every "sinner, 
saved by grace." 

"Marvelous grace!" exclaims the poet. Yes, 
God's grace is indeed marvelous. He saw in sinful, 
fallen man the possibility of children of God and 
made it possible for every man, woman, and child in 
every clime and age to have access to this grace and 
accept restoration to and adoption into His happy 
family. Not one need be lost, for God's plan of salva- 
tion, like everything conceived in His infinite mind, 
is perfect. The unnumbered millions of lost souls in 
eternity will be consigned to the place prepared for 
the devil and his angels, not because the plan of God 
was imperfect but because sinful man failed to im- 
prove his opportunity to accept God's terms of re- 
demption. God's invitation is to "all ye ends of the 
earth" — are we co-operating with God in making the 
invitation known? It is "not his will that any should 
perish" — do we share in this burden for the salvation 
of the lost? The blood of Jesus, Christ is sufficient to 
cleanse the souls of all who come to Him in faith. 
Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, "the Lamb 
of God which taketh away the sin of the world," is 
complete and sufficient to effect the redemption of 
every soul in every clime and age. Praise God for 
His wonderful, marvelous grace. 

IV. Eternal Destiny 

Well has, the poet said, 

"Dust thou art, to dust returneth, 
Was not spoken of the soul." 

The disposition of body and soul at death is thus 
set forth by Solomon: "Then shall the dust return 



28 THE MESSAGE 

to the earth as it was; and the spirit shall return 
unto God who gave it" (Eecl. 12:7). 

The Bible is a meaningless book to those who 
reject the doctrine of the immortality of the soul. 
What was Christ talking about anyway, when He 
told of the state of Lazarus and Dives after death, if 
the so'ul ceases to exist with the death of the body? 
How can the righteous go into "life eternal," and the 
unrighteous into "everlasting punishment," if there 
are no souls to reward or to punish in eternity? All 
that the Bible has to say with reference to the soul of 
man is based upon the doctrine of its eternal exist- 
ence. 

There are very few who reject the doctrine of 
eternal existence for the righteous, but the idea that 
the unrighteous also will exist in eternity and suffer 
the vengeance of eternal fire is repulsive to many. 
They talk freely about the prophecy of Malachi (4:1) 
who says that in that great day the wicked shall be 
as stubble and be burnt up, but all such texts as 
"where the worm dieth not and the fire is not 
quenched," "everlasting burnings, " "smoke of their 
torment ascendeth forever and ever," "unquench- 
able fire," "everlasting punishment," etc., are, in their 
opinion, either figurative, or mis-translations, or to 
be rejected wholesale. Even their favorite text in 
Malachi, if it proves, anything with reference to the 
immortality of the souls of the wicked, proves eternal 
destruction without annihilation. Now take the il- 
lustration of the burning of stubble. They are com- 
pletely and forever destroyed, yet not annihilated, 
for all the material substance remains — what was 
formerly stubble i now ashes and vapor and smoke. 



MAN 29 

So the souls ai the wicked, though "punished with 
everlasting destruction from the presence of the 
Lord/' are not annihilated but suffer forever the 
'Vengeance of eternal fire," in "the place prepared for 
the devil and his angels." The idea of "no conscious 
existence" on the part of the wicked in eternity falls 
to the ground when we remember the many scrip- 
tures that tell of the sufferings of the doomed in 
eternity. Yes, the soul of the unrighteous, as, well as 
of the righteous, is immortal. The eternal, conscious 
existence of the soul, saved or unsiaved, is a "great 
and dreadful" reality. 

God has made abundant provisions for His peo- 
ple, both here and hereafter. For His people He has 
prepared an everlasting Kingdom, where in the full- 
ness of joy and glory they will be with Him forever. 
He has also prepared a place "for the devil and his 
angels" (Matt. 25:41). Further than this, He has 
made no preparation. There is nothing surer than 
the fact that since the unrighteous made themselves 
unfit for habitation in the glory world there is no 
other place for them to spend eternity than in the 
place not prepared for man. There is no other course 
left open for the great Judge on the judgment day 
than to utter the fearful sentence, "Depart from me, 
ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil 
and his angels." And the blame rests wholly upon 
the doomed souls themselves, for God made abundant 
provisions for their salvation. 

Let us notice briefly the great doctrine of separa- 
tion. We have it in this life — a separation of Church 
from world. The Church of God on earth is de- 
scribed as "a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, 



3 o THE MESSAGE 

an holy nation, a peculiar people." In the inter- 
mediate state the separation is marked by "a great 
gulf" (Luke 16:26). In the resurrection the separa- 
tion is again characterized in the terms, "Resurrec- 
tion of life,. . .resurrection of damnation" (Jno. 5:29). 
Again at the judgment bar the righteous, are placed 
on the right and the unrighteous on the left (Matt. 
25:33). Finally, in eternity the righteous will be "for- 
ever with the Lord" in the realms of glory, while the 
unrighteous will be forever in the lake of fire, where 
"the smoke of their torment ascendeth forever and 
ever." 

The impressive thought of it all is that man, in 
time, determines for himself on which side of the 
separation he will be in eternity. The invitation, 
"Choose ye this day whom ye will serve," involves 
not only a choice of service but also a choice of des- 
tiny. They who in truth accept the invitation, 
"Come otit from among them and be ye separate," 
and continue faithful to the end, will be on the right 
side of the separation all along the line. Thus it is 
clear that while God determines the conditions, man 
decides his own destiny. 

Questions 

1. Compare man with the lower animals; with 
"the man Jesus Christ." 

2. What is it to be in the image of God? 

3. Compare man as he was before the fall, in 
the fall, and after the restoration. 

4. If redemption is complete for every creature, 
why are not all men eternally saved? 



MAN 3i 

5. What proofs have you that the soul of man 
is immortal? 

6. How would you convince the man of his 
error who believes that the righteous will live forever 
in glory but that the unrighteous will be annihilated? 

7. Why is man personally responsible for his 
eternal destiny? 

8. Quote scripture to prove (1) that Christ is 
our only hope of redemption ; (2) that the heathen is 
lost without the Gospel; (3) that therefore we are 
responsible for bringing the Gospel to all men. 

P. Give scriptural reasons why we owe our life 
and service to God. 



^ 



CHAPTER III 

THE BIBLE 

In the volume of the BOOK it is written. — Heb. 10:7. 
Forever, O Lord, thy WORD is settled in heaven. — 
Psa. 119:89. 

The subject which stands at the head of this 
chapter is synonymous with the title that stands at 
the head of Part I of this book. When you speak of 
the MESSAGE you speak of the BIBLE. 

The word Bible means "the Book." It is quite 
an appropriate name for this divinely inspired revela- 
tion from God to man, for it is the only message of 
its kind. It is the mission of the Church to make 
this message known to all men, in every clime and 
age. 

That this book may have its proper place in life, 
esteem, and affections of men it is important that we 
keep in mind a number of fundamental and incon- 
trovertible facts. A proper appreciation of any book 
requires a proper conception of what it is, what it 
contains, and what is its proper place. These will 
appear as we meditate upon the following : 

1. The Bible is a direct revelation from God to 
man. 

Let us suppose the whole world shut out entirely 
from communication with any Being or source of in- 
telligence outside the sphere of man. We are per- 
mitted to talk with one another, to study nature, to 
gaze at the stars, to exchange ideas as to cause and 



THE BIBLE 33 

effect, to enlarge upon the theories of others concern- 
ing existence before the advent of man or after death. 
Limited to the intelligence of earth, both Christian 
and pagan would be on exactly the same basis, as 
neither could get any information from any Intel- 
ligence beyond. Such great problems as the origin 
of matter, the origin of life, the origin of man, the 
existence and destiny of the soul, etc., would of 
necessity remain subjects of pure speculation and 
forever remain unsolvable mysteries. The pagan 
philosopher, the agnostic, and every other inquirer 
after truth who rejects the idea of direct revelation 
from God to man would be as apt to make as correct 
guesses as to the answer to these questions as would 
the faithful child of God, for all would be dependent 
upon human discovery and reason for their conclu- 
sions. In the language of a noted agnostic, when we 
come to a question like "If a man die, shall he live 
again?" we could s£y, "Hope says, Yes; reason says, 
Perhaps" — but there we would be compelled to stop, 
for human reason can go no farther. 

But we hear a whisper. Some one says, "In the 
beginning, God created the heaven and the earth." 
Where did he get his information? Some one else 
told him. Where did the other man get it? He read 
it in the Bible? Who wrote that part of the Bible? 
Moses. Where did Moses get his information? He 
got it from God. Again we hear some one say, "Be- 
hold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, 
but we shall all be changed, in a moment, at the last 
trump ; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead 
shall be raised incorruptible." Where did he get that 
information? He got it from the Bible. Who wrote 



34 THE MESSAGE 

that part of the Bible? Paul. Where did Pairi get 
his information. He got it from God. 

May not Moses and Paul and other Bible writ- 
ers simply have written what they heard other men 
say? Let us suppose, for the sake of argument, that 
they did. Now let us trace these reports to their 
origin. They either had their start in a revelation 
from God to man, or they are mere speculation and 
the Bible is a pagan book. The origin of all things 
material or spiritual, the immortality of the soul, the 
eternal destiny of man, and scores of other problems 
revealed to man in this, revelation from God which 
we call "the Bible," would all be shrouded in the 
densest mystery were it not for the fact that God 
saw fit to reveal these things to man. 

There are many things in the Bible that can be 
explained only on the ground that they are revela- 
tions from a super-human Intelligence. The proph- 
ets, hundreds of years before Christ was born, gave 
an accurate and detailed description of His, life from 
the first to the last. The vision of Nebuchadnezzar, 
interpreted by Daniel, and later another vision of 
Daniel himself, gave a correct history of nations for 
centuries afterwards. The Bible itself, recognized 
the world over as the most wonderful book ever writ- 
ten is the production of an obscure nation that never 
excelled in letters or in scholarship and would long 
ago have been forgotten had it not been for the fact 
that there was a God in Israel. The writings of 
scientists of all schools have all been compelled to 
reverse themselves in the light of later revelations, 
but the Bible has never been compelled to reverse 
itself on a single point. The Bible has proven itself 



THE BIBLE 35 

to be a complete, perfect, harmonious, truthful story 
from beginning to end, though it was written at var- 
ious times covering a lapse of about sixteen centuries, 
by about forty different authors of all ranks from 
peasant to king and from "the ignorant and un- 
learned" to the profoundest scholars. These things, 
can be accounted for only on the ground that an all- 
wise and infinite Mind saw fit to reveal to imperfect 
man what would otherwise forever remain unfathom- 
able mysteries. Take away the idea of direct revela- 
tion, and you destroy the foundation upon which the 
Bible stands. 

2. It is given by inspiration of God. 

The two most direct scriptures, teaching this fact 
are II Tim. 3:16 ( U A11 scripture is given by inspira- 
tion of God") and II Pet. 1 :18 ("Holy men of God 
spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost"). 
The fact and necessity and reasonableness of divine 
inspiration of the Holy Scriptures are made clear by 
"many infallible proofs" both insjde and outside the 
Bible. 

By inspiration we mean that the men who wrote 
the Bible were God-inbreathed; that they wrote as 
they were moved by the Holy Ghost; that though 
they used the language of men and left the impress 
of their personality upon their writings they also 
wrote in the language of God, both the men and the 
message being inspired of Him, bringing to the world 
a perfect message according to His will. The posi- 
tion of men of faith concerning inspiration, as dis- 
tinguished from the attitude of those who would put 
a more liberal construction on the inspiration and 
authority of the holy scriptures, is best described by 



36 THE MESSAGE 

the term, "plenary and verbal inspiration of the 
Word." Briefly stated, the whole Bible in all its 
parts, is inspired of God, and this inspiration extends 
to the very words in which the message was given 
from God, through men, to the world. 

Along with the fact that "all scripture is given 
by inspiration of God" is the other fact that it is all 
"profitable." Even the things which the devil said 
and which God directed His servants to embody in 
the Bodk, are profitable in that they throw light 
upon the devil's methods of work and deception, 
thus throwing the child of God upon his guard. "All 
scripture," no matter who first uttered the words or 
whatsoever the character of the speaker or in what- 
soever part of the Book the words are recorded, are 
alike given to the world through the inspiration of 
the Almighty, and should be received as such. God 
in His wisdom saw what man needed, and in what 
form and through what instrumentality the Scripture 
should be given so as to make the most marked im- 
pression. In the sacred canon there is nothing left 
out that is needed for man's edification and well 
being. Not one jot or tittle of this sacred Volume is 
to be omitted or changed, and the Bible pronounces 
the severest penalties upon those who would add to 
or take away from it. Read Gal. 1 :8, 9 and Rev. 22 : 
18, 19. 

Some people stumble at the doctrine of verbal 
inspiration because they can see the personality of 
the writer revealed in the several books of the Bible. 
In response to this it should be borne in mind that 
God does not take away the personality of the man 
when He uses him in His service. The boldness, of 



THE BIBLE 37 

Peter, the childlike simplicity of John, the cautions 
disposition of Thomas, the judicial mind of James, 
the fervor of Paul, the eloquence of x\pollos, and 
the personal traits of other apostles were not marred 
in the least because they were laid upon the altar 
and used of the Lord in a good cause. In fact, this 
very individualism is a help in bringing the Gospel 
of God to man in the form which appeals with great- 
est power to all classes of people. Some are attracted 
by the scholarly masterpieces of Paul ; others, by 
the common sense utterances of James; others, by 
the simple but impressive teachings of John; others, 
by the imagery found in the writings of the prophets. 
In using these different personalities and weaving 
them into the perfect message God showed His wis- 
dom in making His appeal in most effective form. 
The Bible is none the less the Word of God because 
God chose to clothe the message from heaven to 
earth in the language of men. 

The painter takes his brush and paint. Many 
colors appear on the building, they having lost none 
of their personality by being spread on the surface ; 
but it is nevertheless the work of the painter from 
start to finish. In like manner did God use men as 
the instruments through which His Word was given 
to the world. In this great painting (the Bible) we 
see the personality of men, but the whole is the 
work of God, every word breathed in infinite power 
and wisdom. 

3. It is the Word of God. 

This is made plain in any Biblical discussion on 
inspiration. Such testimonies as "Thus saith the 
Lord/' "God said," "The Lord said," "I have re- 



38 THE MESSAGE 

ceived of the Lord/' "The things which I write unto 
you are the commandments of God," etc., etc., etc., 
are quite numerous in the writings of apostles and 
prophets. They confirm what has, already been said. 
The Bible "is given by inspiration of God;" it is the 
WORD OF GOD. 

4. It is absolutely reliable. 

The fact of inspiration emphasizes the reliability 
of the Bible. The men whom God used in writing 
the Bible were all imperfect men, but their imper- 
fections are nowhere incorporated as a part of the 
message. We see evidences of their imperfections 
as, we study their lives; but when, "as the oracles of 
God," they wrote what God gave them to write they 
wrote a message that is perfect even as God is per- 
fect. To illustrate : A poor man, acting as the agent 
of a rich corporation, though unable to pay very 
much on his own account, may sign his name to a 
document calling for the payment of millions and it 
will be honored as much as if he was the owner of 
millions himself. So the inspired man of God, un- 
worthy in hims,elf but being authorized by the Al- 
mighty to write a portion of the sacred canon, was 
able to write a message as pure and as powerful as 
God Himself. It was the wisdom of the Infinite, 
speaking through imperfect man as a medium, re- 
vealing Himself in a perfect message. Behold the 
prophets, faithfully proclaiming what God had com- 
mitted to them, earnestly inquiring of God what the 
message meant. 

This Book being from God, it is trustworthy and 
correct in every particular. From it Paul was able 
to argue, in telling what God meant by Abraham's 



THE BIBLE 30 

seed (Gal. 3:16), that since God said ''seed/' not 
''seeds," he therefore meant the Messiah and not 
multitudes of people. This book is correct, even to 
the letter. In the case just cited the addition of a 
single letter would have changed the character of 
a very important prophecy. When we open any 
other book, no matter how highly we esteem the 
writer and how well equipped we judge him to be 
to write authoritatively concerning his subject, we 
expect to see some imperfections in his writings, for 
it is the authorship of imperfect man ; but when we 
open the Bible we do so with full confidence and 
knowledge that there are no imperfections there, for 
the perfect God is its Author. In all cases, where 
some other book conflicts with any part of the Bible, 
we decide at once, without hesitation, that the Bible 
is right and the other book is wrong. "Forever, O 
God, thy word is settled in heaven" — forever let it 
also be settled on earth. 

5. It is the believer's hand-book of facts. 

If you have never thought of that before, begin 
at once to investigate and be convinced. Biblical 
facts are not only numerous, but they are also very 
valuable in that they shed light on the Christian's 
pathway to glory, no matter what his pursuit or 
vocation in life may be. It tells about the origin of 
all things visible and invisible. It tells about the 
creation, fall, short-comings, iniquity, deliverance, 
duties, opportunities, and destiny of man. It tells 
about the Trinity, about heaven, about the lake of 
fire, about angels and demons, about saints here and 
hereafter. It tells us how we ought to behave our- 
selves in the house of the Lord, in the home, in 



4 o THE MESSAGE 

social circles, in business life, wherever we go. It is 
the light that opens our eyes to the many snares 
and dangers with which this, world abounds, and to 
the blessings and opportunities abounding in the 
pathway to glory upon which God would have us all 
to travel. It tells about the ordinances of the Lord's 
house, about the restrictions which God throws 
around His people for their safety and well being, 
about every provision which God made for the high- 
est welfare of His, people. It reveals to us the 
secrets of a happy life. It is a perfect guide in 
morals, an exact book on Christian ethics, a safe 
business guide, a most excellent book of instructions 
on the Christian home; and, in fact, tells about 
every phase of life, here and hereater, that it is im- 
portant for man to know. It is a treasury of knowl- 
edge which no one can afford to be without. 

6. It should be our daily companion. 

A book so valuable should not be neglected. 
We should make a faithful effort to get these facts 
into our minds and hearts, and to keep this book of 
facts within easy reach at all times for enlighten- 
ment and refreshment. The Bereans were accounted 
"noble" because they "searched the scriptures daily." 
Not a day should be permitted to pass but that this 
heavenly companion has contributed something to 
our lives. 

7. It should be in every home, in every institu- 
tion, in every heart. 

A home without a Bible in it is a dismal place. 
No home should be left without a Bible, if it lies 
within our power to have one put there. There is 
no book which drives more speedilv the darkness 



THE BIBLE 41 

out of God-less homes than does the Bible. Let it 
have first place in our libraries and on our center 
tables, and let us use our influence in creating a 
similar place for it in other homes. A "family Bi- 
ble," in which are a number of interesting records 
which draw the attention of people to the Book, 
should be in every home. 

Then there should be a faithful effort made to 
get a place for the Bible in every institution, public 
or private. The Gideons are doing a good thing by 
getting the Bible into hotels. Others are doing a 
noble worfc in getting this good old Book into jails, 
penitentiaries, and other penal and reformatory in- 
stitutions. Encourage this — and don't neglect any 
opportunities to keep yourselves in readiness to in- 
quire, as did Philip, "Understandest thou what thou 
readest?" In other words, get the Bible into all the 
places you can, and follow it up to reinforce its in- 
fluence by your life and testimony. 

While it is important that the Bible be placed 
into every home and every institution, if it gets no 
farther it is still a closed book. It must be gotten 
into the mind and heart before it is of any practical 
value. The Bible is as so much paper if it is not 
read. It is at best but of literary and moral value if 
it gets no farther than the head. But when it reach- 
es the heart we can say, "The law of the Lord is 
perfect, converting the soul." Resting there, we can 
testify, "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I 
might not sin against thee." Let us work and pray, 
to the end that this great message which is "the 
power of God unto salvation unto every one that be- 
lieveth" may find a resting place in every heart. 



42 THE MESSAGE 

Questions 

1. Why do you look upon the Bible as a revela- 
tion from God? In what sense is, it a revelation? 

2. Define verbal and plenary inspiration. What 
importance do you attach to it? 

3. Compare the Bible with other good books. 

4. What if your Bible were not absolutely re- 
liable in all its parts? 

5. What help has the Bible been to you in your 
Christian life? 

6. What value do you place upon an unre- 
served obedience to the Word of God? to a daily 
reading of this message? 

7. Discuss the value of the Bible as a book of 
facts. 

8. What is our duty in the way of making this 
Bible known to all people? 



CHAPTER IV 
THE BIBLE 

(Continued) 

The entrance of thy words giveth light.— -Psa. 119:130. 
Whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of 
God perfected: hereby know wc that we are in him. — 
I Jno. 2:5. 

Why should we prize our Bible? Why should 
we make it our constant, daily companion? Why 
should we give it a prominent place in our lives and 
in our homes? Why should we so completely absorb 
its message that we may talk in the language of 
Scripture? Why should we lend our lives to the 
great work of making this message known to all the 
world ? 

The answer is found in its, exceeding precious- 
ness, in its transforming power over the lives of 
men, in its lofty ideals and uplifting influence, in the 
fact that it brings the light of heaven to every heart 
and every region where it finds an entrance. We 
learn to appreciate it only as we come in contact 
with its quickening power, as we experience the joy 
which this message brings to the human soul, as we 
recognize the great treasure found in this book of 
God. 

In this brief chapter we want to bring to your 
minds a few high lights of Scripture showing what 
a treasure we have in this inspired message from 
heaven. We will let the Word speak for itself: 



44 THE MESSAGE 

1. The law of the Lord is perfect, converting 
the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making 
wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, 
rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord 
is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord 
is clean, enduring forever : the judgments of the 
Lords are true and righteous altogether. More to be 
desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: 
sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. More- 
over by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping 
of them there is great reward. — Psa. 19:7-11. 

Comment is unnecessary. Out of the depths of 
his experience did the psalmist give voice to what 
there is in this blessed Word for the needy soul. 

2. O how love I thy law! it is my meditation 
all the day.— Psa. 119:97. 

The thought brought to us in this, tribute is the 
joy which a prayerful reading of Scripture brings. 
The law has terrors for the lawless, but it is a mes- 
sage of interest and profit and joy for the righteous. 
They whose souls are fed upon this treasury of 
heavenly wealth have experiences similar to those 
to which the psalmist gives expression. 

3. The entrance of thy words giveth light: it 
giveth ^understanding to the simple. — Psa. 119:130. 

This is true, whether you apply it to the human 
heart or to communities. Light springs up wher- 
ever the Gospel goes. There is a vast difference in 
life and power between the child of God who has 
formed the habit of daily Bible reading and medita- 
tion and the one who is not so diligent in the study 
of the Word even though he may be loyal in service. 
Other things being equal, the more Bible we have 



THE BIBLE 45 

in our heads and hearts the more of heavenly light 
and power and wisdom there is about our life and 
service. As for communities, it is always noticeable 
when the Bible takes hold there. It is the light from 
heaven shining in the dark places of earth. Compare 
the nations called Christian with those called pagan 
or heathen. We admit that in the most Christian- 
ized nations there is but a scant supply of real 
Christianity, but even with the little that there is 
there is a vast difference between the enlightenment 
of such nations and those that are entirely ignorant 
of God's Word. There is a civilizing, refining, puri- 
fying, enlightening, uplifting influence in the Bible 
that is not found in any other book. 

4. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, a light 
unto my path.— Psa. 119:105. 

The firs,t thought to be noticed in this connec- 
tion is that, the Word is not the path itself, but that 
it simply throws light upon this path. Christ says, 
"I am the way." The Bible simply sheds light on 
this way. It tells us how to live. It tells us about 
the way of salvation, the way to glory, and how to 
get there. \s a lantern guides the feet of the trav- 
eler in safe paths through the dark, so the Bible, as 
the great heavenly lantern, shows the way of "stran- 
gers and pilgrims on the earth" traveling through 
the darkness of this world to the pearly gates of the 
new Jerusalem. 

5. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his 
way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word, 
—Psa. 119:9. 

This text is just as applicable to young women, 
or to men and women of all ages. It is a rule of life 



46 THE MESSAGE 

showing the one and only way in which we may be 
cleansed from faults or sins — "according to thy 
WORD/' Many have failed because they have 
sought cleansing in some other way. The Bible 
contains the only recipe for real cleansing. Go to 
the Bible to find the way. 

6. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I 
might not sin against thee. — Psa. 119:11. 

Is it your desire to live a life free from sin? 
Or are you ever approached by people who are seek- 
ing advice as to how they may live the overcoming 
life? It is well to hear what others may have to say 
about this, important question. It is helpful to read 
the books of godly men and ponder over their advice 
concerning a sinless life. But the secret is found in 
hiding God's Word in our hearts. Where the Word 
of God is entrenched in the heart there is a power 
to overcome that is not found in lives of men who 
are ignorant of God's Word. And let us not forget 
that our text says "heart," not head. 

7. The word of God is quick, and powerful, and 
sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to 
the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the 
joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts 
and intents of the heart. — Heb. 4:12. 

The chief thought in this text is the power of 
the Word. It cuts where nothing else can reach. 
It separates, where nothing els,e can avail. It lays 
bare the thoughts and motives of men. It is the 
quickening power, "the sword of the Spirit/' the 
instrument of God that accomplishes great things in 
the salvation of souls and holding them right before 
God. May we say with the psalmist, "I will not 
forget thy word." 



THE BIBLE 47 

8. I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: 
for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one 
that belie veth; to the Jew first, and also to the 
Greek. — Rom. 1 :16. 

When Paul wrote to the Corinthian brethren, 
"In Christ Jesus have I begotten you through the 
Gospel," he called attention to the same truth that 
he expressed in the words of our text. The Gospel 
is a living power, bringing to the hearts of the chil- 
dren of men the wonderful Word of the Lord. No 
wonder that he admonished his son in the faith Tim- 
othy to "PREACH THE WORD." No wonder that 
the importance of the WORD is magnified in many 
scripture texts and testimonies. When therefore we 
think of the Book which we love , let us not forget 
that it bears the message which is declared to be 
"the power of God unto SALVATION to every one 
that believeth." 

Thus we might go on indefinitely, quoting refer- 
ence after reference, showing the wonders and power 
of the Word. Few people, even Christian professors, 
realize what a treasure we have in the Bible, all be- 
cause they have never given the matter the consider- 
ation which its importance deserves. The more we 
think along this line, the more we get into the 
depths of this marvelous message from God, the 
more we become absorbed in it. How important it 
is, then, that we make this message known and bring 
others under its transforming power. 

It is important, also, that we give the Bible a 
most important place in our life and services. What 
the world needs is the Word. What preachers need 
to preach is the Word. What our missionaries need 



48 THE MESSAGE 

to teach and to practice is, the Word. It is the life- 
giving message which all men need. Eloquence is a 
power that appeals to the ear and graceful poise and 
gestures are appealing to the eye. Both have their 
place, but both are vanity without the Word. Make 
your message rich with the Word of God if you 
would be the instrument in the hands of God to 
bring this quickening power to a sickly and sin- 
stricken world. The great weakness of present day 
preaching is that there is so much world and so little 
Bible in it. Don't forget to magnify the Word. It 
is the only message worth while to bring before a 
dying world. 

Questions 

1. With what does the Bible compare the 
Word? 

2. Why should the Bible be carried to the dark 
places of earth? 

3. How may people cultivate a taste for Bible 
reading? 

4. Give your methods of getting others, inter- 
ested in Bible study? 

5. Give the place which the Word of God oc- 
cupies in the work of bringing souls to Christ. 

6. What can you as an individual do to make 
this message known to the world? 

(For a more complete exposition on the Bible, 
read J. B. Smith's article on this subject, found in 
"Bible Doctrine/' pp. 88-128, published by Mennonite 
Publishing House, Scottdale, Pa.) 



CHAPTER V 

THE CHURCH 

Upon this ROCK will I build my CHURCH; and the 
gates of hell shall not prevail against it. — Matt. 16:18. 
Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it 
.... that he might present it unto himself a glorious 
church .... holy and without blemish. — Eph. 5:25-27. 

The Greek word, "ecclesia," from which the 
word Church is derived, means an assembly called 
out by authority. It is a most appropriate name for 
the assembly of God's people, who by authority of 
God have been called "out of darkness into his 
marvelous light." 

Much has been said concerning the origin of the 
Church. Some put the date back to the time of 
Adam; others^ to the time of the Israelites, bearing 
in mind Stephen's reference to "the church in the 
wilderness" (Acts 7 :38) ; others, to the preaching of 
John the Baptist; others, to the beginning of the 
collection of disciples by Christ; and still others, to 
Pentecost. The difference is largely due to the dif- 
ference in viewpoints. We are more concerned 
about what should be the condition of the Christian 
Church, and what God would have His children do 
and be, than we are about a technical discussion as 
to where it dates from. In the bright hereafter, 
when the saints of God will be collected together in 
the mighty congregation in heaven, the assemblage 
will consist of saints of all ages from the time of 
Adam to the time when the righteous living will be 



5o THE MESSAGE 

caught up with the righteous dead to meet the Lord 
in the air. 

Here are a number of facts concerning the 
Christian Church which every believer should know: 

1. It is composed of the saved children of God. 
Looking at it as a spiritual body, it is the sum 

total of all saved people, a body of which Christ is 
the Head. Col. 1 :18. The people of God on earth 
are referred to as "saints," "an holy nation," "stran- 
gers and pilgrims," "a royal priesthood," "a chos,en 
generation," etc. Only those to whom such a de- 
scription is appropriate are proper subjects for mem- 
bership in the Christian Church. 

The Church is not a mere social club, in which 
all people, regardless of faith or character, unite for 
social betterment or entertainment. It is not a com- 
mercial club, to enhance the business interests of its 
members. It is not a community of formalists, 
whose sole and solemn duty is to go through the 
motion of keeping the commandments. It is, the 
body of believers in Christ, redeemed from sin, 
obedient to God, living the fellowship of God 
and of saints, faithful in the service whereunto God 
has called them. Every faithful servant of God is 
praying and working to the end that every member 
of the visible Church may rise to this standard. 

2. The Gospel requirements for admission into 
the Church are faith, repentance, and obedience. 

When the eunuch wanted to know, "What doth 
hinder me to be baptized?" the answer was, "If thou 
believest with all thine heart, thou mayest." 

When on the day of Pentecost the men inquired, 
"Men and brethren, what shall we do?" the answer 
was, "Repent and be baptized." 



THE CHURCH 51 

Later on, we are told, "They that gladly re- 
ceived the word were baptized. " In that day bap- 
tism was administered to obedient ones only. 

The Church today, like the apostolic Church, 
should look for "fruits meet for repentance" and wait 
for evidences, that these three conditions have been 
met before receiving applicants into the Church. 

3. The Church should be kept as free as pos- 
sible from unconverted members. 

It sometimes happens today, as was the case in 
the apostolic Church, that a Simon the sorcerer gets 
into the visible Church. Others may come because 
of the loaves and fishes in prospect. Overseers in 
the Church are but human, and with the best of 
efforts (to say nothing of overseers not so vigilant 
and faithful) unconverted members are received into 
the visible Church. Others who are faithful when 
they come, afterwards fall by the way and become 
backsliders. When it becomes apparent that un- 
converted or sickly members are on the church rolls, 
efforts should be made at once to get them con- 
verted. Should this fail, the dead timber should be 
cut out of the Church. "A little leaven leaveneth 
the whole lump." "Purge out the old leaven," is 
Paul's instruction to a poorly disciplined church. 
The number of unconverted members in a church 
may be reduced to a minimum by the following 
means : 

a. A consistent life on the part of converted 
members. 

b. A vigilant oversight and faithful teaching on 
the part of the ministry. 



52 THE MESSAGE 

c. Wholesome discipline — keeping house ac- 
cording to God's Word. 

d. Personal work on the part of the entire 
working body. 

e. Much fervent prayer. 

f. An opportunity provided for work for every 
member. 

g. Excommunication, when all other means for 
restoration and reconciliation fail. 

Faithful shepherding, faithful training, faithful 
teaching — these are essential in the great work of 
keeping the Church upon Gospel ground. 

4. One mission of the Church is to "preach the 
Gospel to every creature." 

This great truth is taught in Matt. 28:18-20, 
Mark 16:15, Luke 24:47, Acts 1:8, and kindred scrip- 
tures. "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preach- 
ed in all the world. . . .and then shall the end come." 
When every preacher feels that "woe is me, if I 
preach not the gospel" and every member's record 
is such that it can be truthfully said that "all they 
that were scattered abroad went everywhere preach- 
ing the word," the Church is on a fair way of ful . 
filling her mission. A truly missionary church is 
one in which every member feels burdened to make 
Christ known to the greatest possible number of 
people and to win the greatest possible number of 
souls for God. With this burden resting upon us 
we are not apt to cease working and praying when 
we feel physically tired. 

5. Another mission of the Church is to hold 
and to build up in Christ what she has won for 
Christ. 



THE CHURCH 53 

It is, one thing to win souls for Christ; it is an- 
other thing to hold them and to build them up in 
Christ. It has well been said that the crown will 
be won "not in the beginning nor in the middle, but 
at the end of the race." The work of the Church in 
building for the Master is thus beautifully and force- 
fully expressed by Paul in Eph. 4:11-16: "And he 
gave some, apostles ; and some, prophets ; and some, 
evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the 
perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, 
for the edifying of the body of Christ : till we all 
come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge 
of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the 
measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: that 
we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and 
fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, 
by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, where- 
by they lie in wait to deceive; but speaking the 
truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, 
which is the head, even Christ: from whom the 
whole body fitly joined together and compacted by 
that which every joint supplieth, according to the 
effectual working in the measure of every part, mak- 
eth increase of the body unto the edifying of itself 
in love." 

6. God has made abundant provisions for the 
organization of His Church. 

"Order is heaven's first law." "Let all things 
be done decently and in order" is a characteristic 
rule of the Church of Christ. He began by collect- 
ing a few disciples, ordained them as His apostles, 
taught them faithfully, commanded them that after 
His decease they should tarry at Jerusalem until 



54 THE MESSAGE 

they were endued with power from on high, after 
which they were to carry the glad tidings of salva- 
tion into all the world. The apostles faithfully car- 
ried out His, instructions, being careful to fill the 
vacancy caused by the apostasy of Judas before the 
advent of the Holy Spirit, and after the work had 
grown to an extent that they could no longer care 
for it they led their people in the ordination of 
Spirit-filled helpers. Afterwards we read of the 
Christian Church : "And he gave some, apostles ; 
and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and 
some, pastors and teachers : for the perfecting of the 
saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying 

of the body of Christ " (Eph. 4:11-16). Who 

gave? God. For what purpose? for the welfare of 
the Church. Whom did God use in setting these 
men apart to their respective places? The Church, 
the individual members. Through what means? 
Through voice, through the lot. Who made these 
men rulers over their flocks? The Holy Ghost. It 
was the work of the Lord, working through His 
people who were "laborers together with God/' for 
the furtherance of the cause of Christ and the 
Church. The apostolic Church faithfully exercised 
its power to extend its own organizations as the 
cause required — did it by direction of the Lord. 
Bishops or elders, evangelists, pastors, teachers, 
congregations, conferences, etc., are all found in the 
apostolic Church. The wisdom of God in providing 
for the organization of His Church is proven, in a 
negative way, by the fact that churches that stand 
against organization are usually unstable and short- 
lived. 



THE CHURCH 55 

7. Faithful Christian life means fellowship with 
those of like precious faith. 

"If we walk in the light as he is in the light, we 
have fellowship one with another" (I Jno. 1:7). 
Notice, John does not say, "We may have," but "We 
have." It is a sure thing that when a soul has been 
rescued from sin that that soul will also unite in 
fellowship with those who have been likewise res- 
cued. But what about the Christian (?) who claims 
to have had full pardon for his sins and who makes 
no effort to unite with the people of God? He does 
not "walk in the light," or he would have fellowship 
with his fellow believers. But suppose he claims to 
have fellowship with them, only he makes no effort 
to unite with their organization. Then let him face 
this: "He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not 
his, commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in 
him" (I Jno. 2:4). The Bible is very hard on "come- 
outism." Suppose there is no organization of his 
faith near him. Let him seek the fellowship of those 
of like precious faith with him, and work and pray 
to that end. If he does his part, God will see to it 
that he will get in touch with those with whom he 
can fellowship according to the faith. 

8. Church membership implies church loyalty. 

To belong to Christ means to be true to His 
Gospel. To belong to a church means to be true to 
its doctrines and regulations. If we can not con- 
scientiously do so, we should first spend much time 
with God and our Bibles, and if we are still out of 
tune with our church — and are sure, from the light 
of the Gospel, that it is our church and not ourselves 
that is off the Gospel foundation — we should at once 



56 THE MESSAGE 

seek church associations where we can be in com- 
plete loyalty to both Christ and our church. The 
cause of Christ is suffering woefully because there 
are too many church members whose disloyalty in 
the form of indifference or disobedience makes them 
a positive hindrance to the Cause. The standard for 
your church is this: It comes nearer to the standard 
of the Gospel, in doctrine and in life, than any you 
know of. You should belong to no other. This 
point settled, we owe it as a duty to God and the 
Church, to ourselves and to the rising generation, to 
support loyally the work of the Church, to be obedi- 
ent to her rules and regulations, to help promote her 
doctrines, to be instant in prayer and service, to put 
ourselves upon the altar of God and the Church to 
be used as God and the Church may direct. Let us 
remember that the voice of a Spirit-directed church 
is also the voice of God. 

9. God has invested the Church with great 
authority and power. 

"Upon this rock," s,ays Christ, "I will build my 
church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against 
it." Again He says, "Whatsoever ye shall bind on 
earth, shall be bound in heaven." Again, "whoseso- 
ever sins ye remit, they shall be remitted unto 
them/' Of the obstinate offender it is said. "If he 
neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as 
an heathen man and a publican. " 

What shall we say to these things? Is the 
Church vested with arbitrary powers; that whether 
right or wrong it is empowered to lord it over God's 
heritage and make its members come to time. Noth- 
ing of the kind is intended or even hinted at. But 



THE CHURH 57 

being the body of- Christ, officered by overseers who 
have been set apart to their work by the Holy Ghost, 
having a< its discipline the Gospel of Christ, it is, 
God's organization and vested with the power of 
heaven — it is the custodian of God's cause upon 
earth. There is a fearful responsibility resting upon 
the Church as a body, upon members in particular, 
especially upon those placed into a position of lead- 
ership. The power of the Church is not greater than 
its responsibility in maintaining Gospel order and 
holding fast the whole-Gospel faith of Jesus Christ. 
The power of the Church is also manifested in 
its helpful influence over its members — in helping 
them rise continually in the realms of spiritual life, 
in bringing the forces of God into unison and there- 
by multiplying their power for good. As our course 
of life is run, one by one we lay our armor down and 
the sad funeral rites of earth are but the signals of a 
bright triumph in glory. The Church is the recruit- 
ing station of earth to gather souls for the ransomed 
hosts in glory. 

Questions 

1. Distinguish between the visible and invisible 
Church : between the Church militant and the Church 
triumphant. 

2. Discuss the position of Christ, of the Holy 
Ghost, of the Father, of saints and angels in the 
Church of Christ. 

3. Discuss the value of wholesome discipline in 
the Church. 

4. Give what you consider the most important 
reasons for Church organization. 

5. Is it possible to have fellowship with God 



58 ; THE MESSAGE 

and not with the saints ? Give reasons for your answer. 

6. Describe what you consider an ideal church. 

7. Give your ideas, as to what should be the 
relationship between ministry and laity. 

8. How does church membership help you 
spiritually ? 

9. If you met a man who claimed to be a Chris- 
tian and at the same time deliberately stood out 
against holding membership in any church, how 
would you convince him of his error? 

10. Discuss the matter of church extension in 
heathen lands. 



CHAPTER VI 

GOD'S PLAN OF SALVATION 

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only be- 
gotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should 
not perish, but have everlasting life. — Jno. 3:16. 

This was, noticed briefly in section three of 
chapter II. We shall now consider it in greater 
detail. God's plan of salvation takes notice of the 
following facts : 

1. Man created in the image of his Maker — 
intelligent, pure, free from sin and death. 

2. The possibility of man falling, as indicated 
in the warning, "In the day thou eatest thereof, thou 
shalt surely die." 



3 

4 

death 

5, 
6 



Man's transgression and fall. 



3 & 



Man spiritually dead, and subject to physical 



Man's utter depravity, and inability to rise. 

Man's restoration through Christ the Re- 
deemer. 

7. Man a saved creature, a member of God's 
happy family, a member of the Church of Christ, an 
heir of glory. 

The plan is wholly God's. It is the only plan of 
the kind, as all human plans, center around human 
merit or achievement, rather than the grace of God, 
as the foundation. We therefore call it "God's plan 
of salvation," for God alone planned and executed it. 
Let us notice a few facts concerning it : 



60 THE MESSAGE 

1. It was conceived in the mind of God before 
man had existence. 

In that day when all nations will be gathered 
together before the great Judge, He will say to those 
on the right, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit 
the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation 
of the world" (Matt. .25:34). That means that in the 
beginning, before man was even created, to say noth- 
ing of his transgression and consequent fall, God 
looked down through the annals of time, saw what 
man would do, and beforehand made full provisions 
for man's redemption and restoration. It is proof at 
once of the foreknowledge, wisdom, power, and love 
of God. 

2. All men have need of it. 

''There is none righteous, no, not one." "All 
have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." 
"The soul that sinneth, it shall die." "Death passed 
upon all men, for that all have sinned." We quote 
these as sample references testifying to the uni- 
versality of the fall and sinfulness of man. Having 
noticed in another chapter the impossibility of man, 
of his own accord, getting back to God, we shall not 
attempt a discussion on that point here. 

3. It is perfect. 

Even if there were some other way of getting 
back to God (the Bible says there is not) God's plan 
would still be superior to it, in that it provides for 
full and free salvation, for perfect redemption, of 
every human soul in every clime and age. The 
heavenly light "lighteth every man that cometh into 
the world." Of little children it is said, "Of such is 
the kingdom of heaven." To those of responsible 



GOD'S PLAN OF SALVATION 61 

age the promise of salvation is to "whosoever be- 
lieveth." There is not a single barrier in the way 
of any honest seeker after salvation that can not be 
surmounted. There is no language test, no intel- 
ligence test, no labor test, no test of any kind that 
stands in the way of any one seeking after God. 
The plan of salvation, like every other thing that 
was ever conceived in the mind of God, is perfect. 

4. It applies to those only who meet the con- 
ditions. 

But if the plan of salvation is so simple that no 
one need fail, it is not thrust upon any one. God 
saves no one in spite of himself. Man today, like 
Adam, has power to reject God's Word. The prom- 
ise is, "He that cometh unto me, I will in no wise 
cast out;" but there is no promise of salvation to 
those who refuse or fail to come. If there is a "who- 
soever" test for salvation, there is just as surely a 
"whosoever" test for condemnation. Since God has 
made every provision for the salvation of all men, 
upon man rests the responsibility for not being 
saved. 

5. It ends with death. 

The grace of God was a thing of the past with 
the rich man who had opened his eyes in hell, though 
he plead pitifully. "Behold, now is the day of salva- 
tion." The idea of a second chance after death is an 
awful delusion, for the teaching of the Bible is 
against it. The "resurrection of life" is for those 
only "who have done good," while "they that have 
done evil" are doomed to "the resurrection of damna- 
tion. " This corresponds with what the psalmist 
says: "The wicked shall be turned into hell; and 



62 THE MESSAGE 

all the nations that forget God." There is abundance 
of time for salvation now, but none beyond the 
grave. Those who, like the foolish virgins, put off 
the day of salvation until that midnight hour when 
the cry will be heard, "Behold, the Bridegroom Com- 
eth," will find as they knock at the door for ad- 
mittance that the door will be shut. 

There are a number of things connected with 
the plan of salvation which are not only important 
for doctrinal study but also as gauges by which we 
may test ourselves to see whether we have met the 
conditions whidi God has laid down in His PLAN. 
We will consider them very briefly: 

Faith 

This is defined in the language of inspiration as 
"the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of 
things not seen." The teaching of Scripture is that: 

1. It is an essential to salvation. "He that 
believeth not shall be damned." 

2. Without it, it is impossible to please God. 
"For without faith it is impossible to please him." 

3. It is only the "faith which worketh" that 
counts before God. "Faith without works is dead" 

4. It is the means through which we are justi- 
fied before God. "Man is justified by faith." "All 
that believe are justified." 

5. By it we live the overcoming life." "This is 
the victory that overcometh the world, even our 
faith." 

6. Through it we get into peaceable relations 
with God. "Being justified by faith, we have peace 
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." 



GOD'S PLAN OF SALVATION 63 

7. We get it through coming into contact with 
God's people and the Word of God. " Faith cometh 
by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." 

If the wonders of faith are marvelous, the grace 
and power of God in whom we place our trust are 
even more so. The reason why men have so little 
power is because their faith is so small; and the 
smaliness of their faith is accounted for by the fact 
that the}' give so little attention to the greatness, 
the goodness, the power, and the faithfulness of God. 
He who created the universe and holds the existence 
of all things in the hollow of His hands; who is "so 
great that He fills heaven and earth and yet so small 
that He dwells in the heart of the believer ;" who 
sits upon the throne of His power and His glory and 
discerns the thoughts and intents of every human 
heart; whose power is infinite and His love and His 
grace are as great as His power, has never broken 
a single covenant or proven unfaithful to a single 
promise which He has ever made with man. Men 
of great faith are invariably men of great power be- 
cause all who come in touch with Him are endued 
with the power of the Infinite. May we join with 
the disciples in the prayer, "Lord, increase our 
faith." 

Repentance 

is another essential to salvation. "Except ye repent, 
ye shall all likewise perish. " We are commanded 
to preach "repentance and remission of sins among 
all nations." assured that God "commandeth all men 
everywhere to repent/' It is not enough merely to 
become willing to unite with the Church, or to give 
up certain things which seem distasteful to others, 



64 THE MESSAGE 

or to comply with the rules of the Church and keep, 
in a formal way, the commandments of God. Those 
sdns which mean death to the soul must be repented 
of before they can be remitted by the Author of our 
salvation. Repentance stands at the very gateway 
of Christian life and experience. The world is reek- 
ing in sin and the Church burdened with dead mem- 
bers because the great Bible doctrine of repentance 
is not preached with the fervor and faithfulness that 
the Bible commands. Moral reformation will come 
when the individual repents of his sins and gives 
God a chance to purge his, soul of the moral pollu- 
tion that can be wiped away alone through the 
cleansing power of the Blood. There can be no 
enduring social uplift except through the "remission 
of sins" which is promised upon condition of re- 
pentance. 

Justification 

means not only God looking upon man as being all 
right, but also the pardoning grace of God applied 
to the heart and the righteousness of Jesus Christ 
imputed and imparted to the life of the individual. 
God never justifies the sinner without performing 
the miracle of grace in his heart and making him a 
child of God. The cleansing power of the blood 
extends farther than the name — it actually cleanses. 

Man is justified before God by faith. But "faith 
without works is dead. ,, When a man has been so 
completely cleansed from sin that he appears justi- 
fied in the sigfat of God there is such a change 
wrought in his soul that he will also appear upright 
in the sight of right thinking people. Faith and 



GOD'S PLAN OF SALVATION 65 

works go together. The absence of works indicates 
the insufficiency of faith. No man is justified before 
God unless his sins have been removed. Then "how 
shall we that are dead to sin live any longer there- 
in ?" It is significant that Paul, in reminding his 
people that "ye are justified, " preceded that saying 
with "ye are sanctified. " 

Regeneration 

Regeneration has been variously described in 
Scripture as "born again/' "made anew/' "renewed/' 
"new creatures," "quickened," etc. Its importance 
is realized when we consider some of the sweeping 
scriptures telling about it. Here are a few of them: 

"Except a man be born again, he can not see 
the kingdom of God." 

"In Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth 
anything, nor uncircumcision ; but a new creature." 

"He that is born of God doth not commit sin 
....he can not sin, for his seed remaineth in him." 

A saved man is more than a reformed sinner. 
He is a new man who after God is created in "right- 
eousness and true holiness." 

The Christian Church should speak out in no 
uncertain tones concerning the importance and ne- 
cessity of the new birth. Without it there may be 
moral reformation, high social standing, great wealth, 
"wonderful works ;" but there is no such thing as a 
man having any standing before God without becom- 
ing "a new creature." "Ye must be born again/' is 
the message which in the power of the Spirit should 
be made to ring in the ears of every unsaved man. 



66 THE MESSAGE 

Adoption 

Sinners are the children of the devil. The 
'brotherhood of man" and "Fatherhood of God" 
extends to those only who have been "born again." 
There are two great families in the world. Of the 
one it is written, "As many as received him, to them 
gave he power to become the sons of God, even to 
them that believe on his name." Members of the 
other family are thus characterized: "Ye are the 
children of your father the devil." Those walking 
"according to the course of this world" are referred 
to as "the children of wrath." But God has made 
provision for them — on condition. To those who 
come to God in faith the promise is, "though your 
sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow." 
All who are "born again" are given the spirit of 
adoption, taken into God's happy family. They can 
say of a truth, "We have received the spirit of adop- 
tion, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." 

Some have been puzzled to know how one can 
be both adopted and born into the same family. In 
some homes there are children who were born into 
the family and some who were adopted ; but never 
any children who were born and adopted into 
the same family. How is it possible for the same 
soul to be both born and adopted into the family of 
God? 

In answer to this question it should be borne in 
mind that while adoption and regeneration are both 
real experiences the names are figurative. We are 
adopted in the sense that, having once belonged to 
the family of Satan but rescued from his awful 
bondage, we were admitted into the family of God 



GOD'S PLAN OF SALVATION 67 

and made heirs to all that is coming to the children 
of God. We were born into the family of God in the 
sense that, having been "dead in trespasses and in 
sins/' we became "new creatures," were made new, 
"born again," hence born into the family of God. 

The Atonement 

How is the new birth accomplished. Christ 
says that this is a mystery. Jno. 3 :8. But some 
things about it are clear. It is distinctly the work 
of God. Paul says that it is accomplished, "not by 
works of righteousness which we have done, but 
according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing 
of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost" 
(Tit. 3:5). Jesus Christ is "the Lamb of God which 
taketh away the sin of the world," and "by him we 
have received the atonement." "The blood of Jesus 
Christ. . . .cleanseth us from all sin." In the crimson 
flood that flowed from Calvary there is atonement 
for every creature, remission of sins for all who 
come to God in faith for pardoning grace. "By one 
offering he hath perfected forever them that are 
sanctified." 

Redemption 

(For a brief discussion of this subject the reader 
is referred to section three of Chapter II.) 

Conversion 

The literal meaning of this word is to turn. But 
in connection with the Christian life we are apt to be 
misled by this definition of conversion unless we 
comprehend what is involved in this turning. They 
who by the grace of God are turned from sin to 
righteousness have the miracle of grace wrought 



68 THE MESSAGE 

within their souls which gives them new life in 
Jesus. The sum total of all that we have enumerat- 
ed thus far in the discussion of God's plan of salva- 
tion, as well as that which follows in the next para- 
graph, is embodied in an evangelical conversion. 
Conversion means a complete change from sin to 
righteousness, from a hellward to a heavenward 
journey, from a child of the devil to a child of God. 
There are two special things which should be taught 
with reference to conversion: (1) It is essential to 
salvation. (2) It means a change in heart, a change 
in the use of the tongue, a change in the use we 
make of our pocket books, a change in affections, a 
change of masters, a change in everything that af- 
fects our life purposes and plans. As in the case of 
repentance, there is a dearth in preaching on true 
conversion. 

Sanctification 

Salvation saves from sin in time, and from the 
results of sin in eternity. God's plan of salvation 
includes more than the matter of getting people to 
heaven after they die ; it also involves the cleaning 
up of the life in this world. This phase of the work 
we call "sanctification. " Sanctification, or the set- 
ting apart of the life to God, involves two things : 
(1) dedication to the Lord, (2) a cleaning up of the 
life. The first belongs to us, the second is the work 
of God. "How shall we that are dead to sin, live any 
longer therein?" Every child of God needs to know 
that without "holiness (sanctification — R. V.) no 
man shall see the Lord." 

As the holy life is to be considered at length in 



GOD'S PLAN OF SALVATION 69 

a succeeding chapter, we shall refrain from a discus- 
sion of it here. 

God's plan of salvation is wonderfully compre- 
hensive. May we never cease to praise His name, 
never cease to "worship Him in spirit and in truth," 
for His bountiful -provision for our well being both 
here and in eternity. Above all, may our lives pre- 
sent a daily living witness of what this plan of salva- 
tion does for a poor human soul. 

Questions 

1. What is, meant by a "plan of salvation?" 

2. If God's plan includes all men, why is it that 
not all men are saved? 

3. Since those living in Christian lands are 
more highly favored than those living in heathen- 
dom, is not God therefore "a respecter of persons." 

4. Distinguish between adoption and the new 
birth ; between conversion and regeneration ; be- 
tween justification and sanctification. 

5. Discuss atonement and redemption. 

6. Of the nine doctrinal subjects considered in 
connection with the plan of salvation, if you were 
called upon to emphasize one which at the present 
time needs more attention than any of the rest, 
which would it be? Give reasons for your answer. 

7. What would be the results if God's wonder- 
ful plan of redemption were more widely and more 
thoroughly known? 

8. Why do you call this a perfect plan? 



CHAPTER VII 

CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES 

Walking in all the commandments and ordinances of 
tHe Lord blameless. — Luke i :6. 

Keep the ordinances, as I delivered the.m to you. — 
I Cor. 11:2. 

The Christian Church, like every other organiza- 
tion, has its rules of order. Here, under the direc- 
tion of Infinite Wisdom, there is a safeguard thrown 
around the children of God designed to keep them on 
the green pastues and by the still waters of the 
bread and water of life, and certain ordinances de- 
signed to typify and to memorialize the mos,t vital 
principles of the Christian faith. 

An ordinance has been defined as "an estab- 
lished rite or ceremony ;" a Christian ordinance as 
"an earthly ceremony with a heavenward meaning." 
These ordinances having been instituted by divine 
authority and wisdom, they merit our most thought- 
ful consideration and faithful obedience. Here are a 
few thoughts which should be born in mind as we 
consider these heaven-ordained provisions for our 
spiritual well being: 

1. They were instituted by divine authority. 

One of these — Marriage — was instituted of God 
in the creation. Three — Baptism, the Communion. 
and Feet Washing — were commanded by our Savior. 
Three — the devotional Covering, the Christian Salu- 
tation, and the Anointing of Oil — are taught in the 
writing- of the apostles who were especially com- 



CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES 71 

missioned to bring the Gospel of Christ to all people. 
And whether these disciples brought the Gospel of 
Christ before the people "by word or our epistle/ 1 
they spoke by divine inspiration and authority, ami 
it is literally true that the things that they wrote 
were the commandments of God. Read Acts, 9:15 
and I Cor. 14:37. 

2. The merit is not in the symbols themselves, 
but in obedience to God and in the vital Christian 
principles which they typify. 

Thus water baptism, the Christian successor to 
the priestly consecration under the law and a symbol 
of the baptism of the Holy Ghost, teaches us the 
idea of separation from the world and consecration 
to and installment into the visible body, the Church. 
It is but "the answer of a good conscience toward 
God." The bread and the cup in the communion 
mean but a few crumbs and a few drops for each 
individual materially, but spiritually they typify the 
Lord's broken body and shed blood, a united body 
of believers in Jesus, a most impressive witness to 
"the Lord's death till he come.'' So with the other 
ordinances named. They stand for something vital, 
but in themselves they are but symbols. Being con- 
ceived and instituted in divine wisdom, the keeping 
of them is of vital importance to the Christian 
Church. 

3. These ordinances should be literally observed 
by all believers. 

There is no salvation in the keeping of them. 
A person may go through the motion of obeying 
them all and still be a lost sinner. Salvation comes 
alone "by grace through faith." Nevertheless we 



72 THE MESSAGE 

are not justified before God when we deliberately 
disobey His Word. It is God's will, His command, 
that we obey. These ordinances are the command- 
ments of God. "If ye know these things, happy are 
ye if ye do them." Let us notice each of them, 
briefly : 

Baptism 

The Bible speaks of four kinds of baptism: 
Spirit, water, fire, suffering. The last two are men- 
tioned in Scripture only incidentally, as there is no 
question as to their having a place in our experience 
provided the firs,t two are experiencd. 

Water baptism is the symbol of the Holy Ghost 
baptism. Joel, John the Baptist, Christ, and Peter 
speak of them in a way that this connection is clear- 
ly gathered. Another thought we get from their 
writings is that while man baptizes with water, God 
baptizes with the Holy Ghost. 

The first reference we have to water baptism is, 
in connection with the preaching and work of John 
the Baptist. The form and meaning were new, as 
he was preparing the way for the ministry of Jesus, 
but evidently this was but a continuation of the 
priestly consecration. John, a priest, was six months 
older than Jesus, and had evidently been preaching 
about that long when Jesus, at the age of 30 (which 
was also the age when priests were consecrated — 
Num. 4:3,35,39) presented Himself for baptism. 
Here is the act of John the priest, having himself 
been consecrated at the lawful age, consecrating Him 
of whom he was the forerunner to the office of the 
orieathood, Christ becoming the Head of a new 



CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES 73 

priesthood, He being "a priest forever after the order 
of Melchisedec. ,, It was a continuation of the same 
ceremony, but now taking on a new meaning, and in 
the fulness of time the whole order of the priesthood 
was changed. As the consecration was an initiation 
into the priesthood, so is baptism the initiation into 
the visible body of Christ, even as "by one Spirit we 
are all baptized into one body." 

Water baiptism should be administered only 
upon confession of faith and evidence of repentance. 
"If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest," 
was Philip's reply to the eunuch when he asked, 
''What doth hinder me to be baptized." "Repent 
and be baptized," was Peter's rejoinder to the ques- 
tion, "What shall we do?" Since baptism is but 
"the answer of a good conscience," it is mockery to 
administer it wdiere the "good conscience" is not in 
evidence. As soon as applicants have brought "forth 
fruit meet for repentance" they are fit subjects for 
baptism. Every applicant for baptism should be 
given a survey of Scripture teaching and require- 
ments and should show a willingness, to accept them 
all before being baptized. 

As for the mode of administering water baptism, 
there should be no serious question on this point. 

Here are a few things to keep in mind. 

1. The words 44 pour" and "baptize" are used 
interchangeably in Scripture. (Compare Matt. 3:11 
and Acts 1:5 with Joel 2:28 and Acts 2:16,17; also 
I Cor. 10:1,2 with Psa. 77:17). 

2. Since water baptism is the symbol of Spirit 
baptism, and the latter is always referred to in such 
terms as "poured out," "fell upon," "shed forth," or 



74 THE MESSAGE 

some other term signifying effusion, why should not 
the symbol resemble it in form? 

3. There is no hint in Scripture that this mode 
is not acceptable as a mode of baptism, neither are 
there directions given as that some other mode 
should be used in administering the rite of water 
baptism. 

The Communion 

This ordinance holds a place in the Christian 
Church similar to that which the Jewish passover 
held under the Law. It was instituted on the night 
of the betrayal, at the time when Christ ate with 
His disciples the last legal Jewish passover. For an 
account of its institution read Matt. 26:26-28, Mark 
14:12-25, and Luke 22:7-20. The meaning and use 
of this ordinance is thus, set forth in Scripture: 

1. It is a memorial of the broken body and 
shed blood of Jesus.— Matt. 26:26-28. 

2. It is typical of the union and fellowship of 
believers.— I Cor. 10:16-23. 

3. It is a witness of "the Lord's death till he 
come/'— I Cor. 11:26. 

4. It is not to be confused with a feast for the 
body.— I Cor. 11:17-22. 

5. It stands, as a warning against inconsistent 
living.— I Cor. 11:27-30. 

The wisdom of God in instituting this simple 
memorial ceremony is evident from the results of a 
faithful observance of the ordinance. Nothing is 
more fruitful in bringing before the people a vivid 
reminder of our Savior's great sacrifice for us and 
our consequent duties and obligation to Him; of the 
union and fellowship between those who are knit to- 



CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES 75 

gether in love, held by a common faith; of the com- 
ing again of our Lord, after which the saints of God, 
in the mighty congregation in heaven, will be for- 
ever in fellowship in glory. 

Feet Washing 

This ordinance was instituted at the same time 
that our Savior broke bread with His disciples. It 
is most appropriate as a reminder of the relationship 
and humility and mutual helpfulness that should 
exis£ among believers. Here are a few things that 
ought to be remembered in connection with the ob- 
servance of this ordinance. 

1. It is a religious ceremony. Christ was serv- 
ing- as Head of the Church, not as host of a social 
company, 

2. It was something new at the time Christ 
washed His disciples' feet. This is evident from His 
words to Peter, "What I do thou knowest not now." 

3. It was not for cleanliness. They had al- 
ready made full preparation for the feast. When 
Christ said, "Ye are not all clean/' he referred to 
Judas. Of the rest He said, "Ye are clean." 

4. It was instituted by one having authority. 
"Ye call me Master and Lord He said," and ye say 
well, "for so I am." 

5. To wash one another's feet was laid upon 
the disciples as a solemn obligation. "If I then, 
your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, ye 
also ought to wash one another's feet." 

6. It was instituted with the express purpose 
of being kept by the disciples. "I have given you 



76 THE MESSAGE 

an example, that ye should do as I have done to 
you." 

7. There is a blessing in observing it. "If ye 
know these things, happy are ye if ye do them." 

8. It had a place in apostolic practice. What 
Paul wrote to Timothy concerning the qualifications 
of a certain class of women he saw fit to include "If 
she have washed the saints' feet.'' Some have tried 
desperately to outlaw the ordinance by wresting the 
words of Paul to Timothy and make it appear that 
this was simply an old custom because it is placed 
"into the category of good works." But had this 
been the intent of Paul he would hardly have used 
the word "saints" in this connection, but rather 
the word "needy" or "guest" or some other word in- 
dicating an absence of partiality when it comes to 
deeds of kindness or mercy. It is the one echo in 
the epistolary writings showing that the plainly 
taught ordinance of Jno. 13:1-17 had recognition in 
the apostolic Church. The plainness in which this 
ordinance was instituted and described accounts for 
the absence of mention in the epistles as the apostles 
corrected abuses or misunderstandings, for there was 
nothing to misunderstand. Any child can under- 
stand Jno. 13:1-17. Read it. 

The Devotional Covering 

As we read I Cor. 11 :2-16 we are impressed with 
the following: 

1. Men should worship with their heads un- 
covered (4,7). 

2. Women should worship with heads covered 
(5,6,10,13). 



CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES 77 

3. There are two coverings spoken of in this 
chapter — the veil and the long hair (5,6,14,15). 

4. Women should either wear both or discard 
both (5,6). 

5. The lesson which nature teaches (woman 
universally being obedient to this lesson and wearing 
the long hair) emphasizes the fact that the Christian 
woman should be just as, obedient in wearing the 
veiling (14, 15). 

6. Contentious men who in spite of this plain 
teaching insist that their wives or daughters worship 
with uncovered heads should be given quickly to 
understand that the thing for which they are con- 
tending is not sanctioned by any of the churches, 
Jew or Gentile, that are in line with the Gospel (16). 

There have been numerous suggestions as to 
how we may get around wearing the devotional 
covering and yet not be condemned by Scripture, 
but the only scriptural way is to receive the Worci 
gladly, take this as it reads, obey it literally. The 
blessings attending such obedience will abundantly 
justify the attitude. 

The Christian Salutation 

The Bible recognizes three forms: (1) greeting 
friends by name, (2) the right hand of fellowship, 
(3) the holy kiss. 

"Greet the friends, by name," wrote John to "the 
well beloved Gaius. ,, It is a most agreeable as well 
as a distinctly helpful practice to give ready recog- 
nition to friends and neighbors as you meet them or 
pass them on the way. 

When James and other pillars of the Church 



78 THE MESSAGE 

recognized in Paul the qualities of a true man and 
brother, they extended to him "the right hand of 
fellowship." It goes a step further than mere per- 
sonal greeting, being a token of both sociability and 
equality. 

The "fervent charity" which binds the children 
of God together in one bond of fellowship is typified 
in the holy kiss. Five times in Scripture (Rom. 
16:16; I Cor. 16:20; II Cor. 13:12; I Thes. 5:26; 
I Pet. 5 rl4) is this form of the Christian salutation 
commanded. No one who reads these scriptures 
with an obedient eye has any difficulty to understand 
what they mean. And no one in whom the love of 
God waxes, warm enough to give him a warm affec- 
tion for his fellow believers will hesitate to obey the 
command. It is not only the natural way of express- 
ing affections, but a most impressive and expressive 
way of manifesting the feeling of love that should 
exist between brother and brother, between sister 
and sister. 

Anointing with Oil 

k 'Is any sick among you? let him call for the 
elders of the church : and let them pray over him, 
anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord ; and 
the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord 
shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, 
they shall be forgiven him" (Jas. 5:14,15). This in- 
struction is in line with apostolic practice. In Mark 
6:13 we read that the disciples, "anointed with oil 
many that were sick, and healed them. ,, Much has 
been lost in the way of healing for men and glory 
for God because we have not always arisen to our 






CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES 79 

privileges in recognizing the healing power of the 
Almighty. 

Marriage 

Marriage is an institution ordained of God. It 
is thus defined in Scripture: "For this cause shall a 
man leave father and mother, and shall cleave unto 
his wife : and they twain shall be one flesh. Where- 
fore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What 
therefore God hath joined together, let not man put 
astmder" (Matt. 19:5,6). 

Following are among the things which the Bible 
teaches concerning marriage: 

1. It is to maintain the perpetuation and purity 
of the human family. — Gen. 1:28; Heb. 13:4. 

2. It is indissoluble, except by death. — Matt. 
19:6; I Cor. 7:39. 

3. Until the bond is thus dissolved, to go 
through the form of marriage and live with some 
one of the opposite sex constitutes adultery. — Mark 
10:11 ; Rom. 7:3. 

4. Mixed marriages between children of God 
and children of this world are forbidden. — Deut. 7 :3 ; 
Neh. 13:23-26; II Cor. 6:14; I Cor. 7:39. 

5. Mixed marriages between members of dif- 
ferent denominations are unwise. — Amos 3:3. 

Next to salvation, marriage is the most sacred 
thing that can be named. When entered into in the 
fear of God and in accordance with His Word, it is 
a bond that is stronger than law, provides for the 
highest well being of those who are thus made "one 
flesh," and as a rule determines the destiny, here 
and hereafter, of the two thus united as well as their 
posterity. It should be entered into in the spirit of 



8o THE MESSAGE 

prayer, and the best part of the intellect should be 
employed when this question is in consideration. 
Those seeking companionship for their own good 
and for the good of the cause, look for the following : 

1. One who is one in faith with himself. 

2. One whose aims, tastes, and ideals of life 
are identical with those of his own. 

3. One who is congenial, companionable, in- 
tellectually and morally worthy, physically sound 
enough to enter the married state. 

No one should look for such ideals on the part 
of any one of the opposite sex without striving to 
attain such ideals himself or herself. If there is any 
reforming to be done, let it be done in the fear of 
the Lord before marriage. 

Questions 

1. What is an ordinance? 

2. Why are church ordinances important? If 
the keeping of them is not a means of salvation, why 
keep them at all? 

3. Explain the relation between water baptism 
and Spirit baptism. Which comes first? 

4. If there is no saving virtue in the bread and 
the cup, why could we not remember the Lord's 
suffering and death without the communion? 

5. Explain the difference between feet washing 
as a custom or service, and feet washing as a cere- 
mony. 

6. Discuss, the value of the devotional covering 
as an institution in the Church. 

7. Of the seven ordinances named in this chap- 
ter, which do you class as "major" and which as 



CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES 81 

"minor ?" which as "essential" and which as "non- 
essential ?" Give reasons for your answer. 

8. What significance is there in calling the 
Christian salutation "an holy kiss?" a "kiss of 
charity?" 

9. What importance do you place on the anoint- 
ing with oil? When and by whom and for what 
purpose should it be practiced? 

10. Are the writings of Paul inconsistent with 
the other scriptural references to marriage? 

Outline of Christian Ordinances 

Scriptural Meaning or 
Ordinance References Design of Remarks 



Baptism 


Communion 


/> 


Feet Washing 




Devotional Covering 


(, 


The Holy Kiss 


Anointing with Oil 


Marriage 



Suggestion: Let each member of the class draw this 
diagram on paper or board of sufficient size and carefully 
fill out the blank spaces. 



8o THE MESSAGE 

prayer, and the best part of the intellect should be 
employed when this question is in consideration. 
Those seeking companionship for their own good 
and for the good of the cause, look for the following : 

1. One who is one in faith with himself. 

2. One whose aims, tastes, and ideals of life 
are identical with those of his own. 

3. One who is congenial, companionable, in- 
tellectually and morally worthy, physically sound 
enough to enter the married state. 

No one should look for such ideals on the part 
of any one of the opposite sex without striving to 
attain such ideals himself or herself. If there is any 
reforming to be done, let it be done in the fear of 
the Lord before marriage. 

Questions 

1. What is an ordinance? 

2. Why are church ordinances important? If 
the keeping of them is not a means of salvation, why 
keep them at all? 

3. Explain the relation between water baptism 
and Spirit baptism. Which comes first? 

4. If there is no saving virtue in the bread and 
the cup, why could we not remember the Lord's 
suffering and death without the communion? 

5. Explain the difference between feet washing 
as a custom or service, and feet washing as a cere- 
mony. 

6. Discuss, the value of the devotional covering 
as an institution in the Church. 

7. Of the seven ordinances named in this chap- 
ter, which do you class as "major" and which as 



CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES 81 

"minor ?" which as "essential" and which as "non- 
essential ?" Give reasons for your answer. 

8. What significance is there in calling the 
Christian salutation "an holy kiss?" a "kiss of 
charity ?" 

9. What importance do you place on the anoint- 
ing with oil? When and by whom and for what 
purpose should it be practiced? 

10. Are the writings of Paul inconsistent with 
the other scriptural references to marriage? 

Outline of Christian Ordinances 

Scriptural Meaning or 
Ordinance References Design of Remarks 

Baptism 



Communion 



-A- 



Feet Washing 



^ 



Devotional Covering 



The Holy Kiss 



Anointing with Oil 



Marriage 



Suggestion: Let each member of the class draw this 
diagram on paper or board of sufficient size and carefully 
fill out the blank spaces. 



CHAPTER VIII 

BIBLE RESTRICTIONS 

Walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.- -Rom. 8:1. 
Mortify therefore your members which are upon the 
earth. — Col. 3:5. 

God has, made every provision for the safety and 
well being of His people. We have full salvation in 
the Lord whose blood cleanses from all sin. We 
have the Holy Ghost, who convicts the world of sin 
and blesses the children of God as Comforter and 
Guide. We have the holy Bible as a perfect and 
complete message from God to man. We have the 
Church as the Christian pilgrim's home on earth, 
where in the blessed fellowship of the Spirit the 
saints of God are strengthened and encouraged to 
wend their way heavenward. We have a number of 
Christian ordinances which strengthen our fellow- 
ship with one another and help us to appreciate the 
most vital Christian principles and privileges. We 
are favored with a number of important restrictions 
which help to keep the faithful upon the highway of 
holiness. On every hand there are heaven-inspired 
encouragements to do good and warnings against 
doing wrong. 

Some people object to the idea of restrictions. 
Like Eve in the Garden, they see no reason why 
they should be prohibited from reaching forth their 
hands and partaking of any fruit they choose. The 
idea of prohibition seems to rob them of cherished 



BIBLE RESTRICTIONS 83 

liberty. To their minds, "Thou shalt not" stands 
crosswise in the path of freedom. 

But they forget that the dominion of the flesh 
means bondage in the slavery of sin; that in the 
wisdom of God they are asked to refrain from noth- 
ing that is not to the hurt of themselves or of others, 
to make no sacrifices that are not for the glory of 
God and the good of man ; that they who recognize 
the wisdom of God and are subject to Him are al- 
ways glad for any warnings against harm and danger 
which He may have to give ; that such warnings and 
instructions become prohibitive laws to those only 
who at heart have their affections set upon evil. 
For illustration : A mother holds a bottle of attrac- 
tive liquid before her children and solemnly warns 
them to leave it alone because it is poison. If the 
children are wise they will thank their mother for 
the information. It is a hated "restriction" to those 
children only who are disobedient to their mother 
and have their hearts set on evil. So with our Bible 
restrictions. There are many things in this present 
evil world which are ruinous to the soul, and God 
graciously gives His, children warning. Will we be 
wise and heed the warning, or will we, like Mother 
Eve, chafe under the restrictions, believe the devil 
rather than God, reach out our hands, and partake to 
our own destruction? 

Following are a number of Bible restrictions 
which stand out very prominently in the Gospel and 
which every child of God should heed : 

Nonconformity to the World 
The name is suggested by Rom. 12:2 — "Be 
not conformed to this world. " It is, the most im- 



84 THE MESSAGE 

portant and far-reaching of all the Bible restrictions. 
Here is a word picture of the two great bodies 
which the Bible says are distinctly separate: 

1. People of God: "Ye are a chosen genera- 
tion, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar 
people; that ye should show forth the praises of 
him who hath called you out of darkness into his 
marvelous light" (I Pet. 2:9). 

2. World : "The whole world lieth in wicked- 
ness" (I Jno. 5:19). 

Because of this great difference between the 
two, we have these admonitions : "Love not the 
world, neither the things that are in the world. If 
any man love the world, the love of the Father is 
not in him" (I Jno. 2:15). 

"Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the 
world, is the enemy of God" (Jas. 4:4). 

"And be not conformed to this world : but be 
ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that 
ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and 
perfect will of God" (Rom. 12:2). 

This, imiportant Bible doctrine, when applied 
faithfully to practical life, makes a very noticeable 
mark of separation between the children of God and 
the children of this world. Following are a few of 
the applications: 

1. Pride. — "Pride goeth before destruction, and 
an haughty spirit before a fall" (Prov. 16:18). "Be 
not proud: for the Lord hath spoken" (Jer. 13:15). 

2. Covetousness. — "Take heed, and beware of 
covetousness" (Luke 12:15). "The love of money 
is the root of all evil" (I Tim. 6:10). "Be not de- 






BIBLE RESTRICTIONS 85 

ceived: neither fornicators. .. .nor extortioners, shall 
inherit the kingdom of God" (I Cor. 6:9,10). 

3. Lust. — "Adultery, fornication, lasciviousness 
....they which do those things shall not inherit the 
kingdom of God" (Gal. 5:21). 

4. Drunkenness. — " nor drunkards .... shall 

inherit the kingdom of heaven" (I Cor. 6:10). 
"Strong drink is, raging; and whosoever is deceived 
thereby is not wise." (Prov. 20:1). 

5. Foolishness. — "The mouth of fools poureth 
out foolishness" (Prov. 15:2). 

6. Fashionable Apparel. — "In modest apparel.. 
. . not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly 
array" (I Tim. 2:9— Read also Isa. 3:16-24; I Pet. 
3 :3, 4 ; and other scriptural references pertaining to 
proper and improper apparel). 

The important thing to remember about all 
these worldly spots is that it is the world that dic- 
tates them and the worldly inclined that follow. The 
child of God, being "unspotted from the world," can 
not consistently be conformed to the world in any 
one of them. They whose clothing, speech, business 
methods, associations., etc., are determined by the 
fashions and customs of this world are doing what 
Paul declares is done by those who are dead in tres- 
passes and in sins; that is ( , "walking according to 
the course of this world" (Eph. 2:2). Every child of 
God is in duty bound so to walk before God and 
man that his language, home life, business relations 
and methods, social life, church affiliations and work, 
appearance as to clothing — are a living witness to 
the fact that he has taken God at His word and lives 
a life "unspotted from the world." 



86 THE MESSAGE 



Nonresistance 



This term is derived from our Savior's teaching: 
"Resist not evil." Briefly stated, the Bible doctrine 
of nonresistance is this: that we follow in the foot- 
steps of Ghrist in maintaining a peaceable attitude 
toward every body and everything but sin, abstain- 
ing from carnal strife in every form, suffering wrong- 
fully rather than to inflict violence upon others. 

That this is the proper attitude for all Christian 
people is evident from the life and teachings of both 
Christ and the apostles. 

What Christ Taught. — Christ, who is described 
by the prophet as "The Prince of Peace" (Isa. 9:6), 
and whose coming to earth was hailed by the heav- 
enly host as bringing about the era of "on earth 
peace, good will toward men," justified .this estimate 
of Himself both by His life and by His teachings. 
He set a perfect example of nonresistance, never 
using His great power in self defence, though He 
suffered much persecution and was finally shame- 
fully betrayed and crucified. The life that He lived 
He also taught to His followers. Among other 
things He taught (Matt. 5:38-45; 26:52; Jno. 18:36) 
that His people should "resist not evil ;" that they 
should pfay for their persecutors, do good to them 
that hated them, assuring both friend and foe that 
His servants do not fight, and that "all they that 
take the sword shall perish with the sword." 

What the Disciples Taught. — The disciples of 
Christ likewise taught and practiced the same doc- 
trine (Rom. 12:17-21; I Cor. 6:1-6; II Cor. 10:4, 
etc., etc.) and it is, significant that during the first 
two centuries of the Christian Church there does not 



BIBLE RESTRICTIONS 87 

a single man of God appear in history who is also 
rated as a warrior. 

It is not strange, therefore, that in the light of 
these conspicuous examples and this specific teach- 
ing, with not a breath of New Testament testimony 
in favor of war, that there should still be those who 
believe that the followers of the Prince of Peace 
should not engage in war in any form. Peter gave 
the correct attitude of Christian people when in 
referring to the peaceable life and attitude of Jesus 
Christ he said that "we should follow in his steps." 
The peace principles of Jesus. Christ will keep us out 
of quarrels, out of law-suits, out of carnal warfare. 
"If we suffer, we shall also reign with him." For 
the disciples this policy meant suffering, but it also 
meant the winning of many souls for the Prince of 
Peace. The greatest and only enduring conquests, 
are those made through the power of love. 

Swearing of Oaths 

Jesus settled forever the question as to whether 
it is right for Christian people to take the oath. He 
called attention to how it was under the Old Coven- 
ant and how it is under the New. This is His lan- 
guage: "It hath been said by them of old time, Thou 
shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto 
the Lord thine oaths : but I say unto you, Swear not 
at all ; neither by heaven ; for it is God's throne : 
nor by the earth ; for it is his footstool : neither by 
Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. 
Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou 
canst not make one hair white or black. But let 
your communication be Yea, yea; nay, nay: for 



88 THE MESSAGE 

whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil" 
(Matt. 5:33-37). 

Equally emphatic is the testimony of James : 
"But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neith- 
er by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any 
other oath : but let your yea be yea ; and your nay, 
nay; lest ye fall into condemnation" (Jas. 5:12). 

The most notable point in these two testimonies 
is that under the New Testament the oath is totally 
forbidden to the child of God. To our Savior's "swear 
not at all" is added James' "neither by any other 
oath." Some protest that this, did not refer to the 
judicial oath, that it meant merely the profane oath. 
To this it must be stated that the oath permitted "by 
them of old time" was the judicial oath and that the 
profane oath was never lawful; but even if the pro- 
fane oath had been allowed (which it was not) our 
Savior's "swear not at all" and James' "neither by 
any other oath" would completely wipe away any 
oath of any kind. It is absolutely outlawed in the 
Gospel. "I will that thou affirm" expresses the 
Gospel way of telling our story. 

Secret Societies 

Here are a few scripture lights against the 
secret lodge as it exists today: 

"In secret have I said nothing" (Jno. 18:20). 

"Be ye not unequally yoked together with un- 
believers: for what fellowship hath light with dark- 
ness or what part hath he that believeth with 

an infidel? Come out from among them, and be 

ye separate, saith the Lord" (II Cor. 6:14-18). 

"And have no fellowship with the unfruitful 



BIBLE RESTRICTIONS 89 

works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it 
is a shame even to speak of those things which are 
done of them in secret" (Eph. 5:11,12). 

"Or if a soul swear, pronouncing with his lips 
to do evil or to do good, whatsoever it shall be that 
a man shall pronounce with an oath, and it be hid 
from fhim ; when he knoweth of it then he shall be 

guilty He shall confess that he hath sinned" 

(Lev. 5 :4, 5). 

Falling under the condemnation of this scrip- 
tural light are all organizations in which organized 
secrecy has a part, or in which the unequal yoke 
exists between believer and unbeliever. Among such 
organizations we may name the secret lodge, the 
labor union, fraternal insurance organizations, farm- 
ers' unions, and every organization in which the 
cardinal 'principles of non-secrecy and freedom from 
the unequal yoke are violated. They should be op- 
posed, therefore, upon scriptural grounds. Aside 
from this, there are a number of strong objections 
against all such organizations — such as false charity, 
undermining the sanctity of home and Church, dis- 
loyalty to Government, expense, harboring crime, 
etc. ; but as we are addressing ourselves to Christian 
people, we shall content ourselves by simply show- 
ing the unscriptural act of Christian people allying 
themselves with such organizations. To be con- 
sistent, every child of God will steer clear of them 
all. 

Life Insurance 

There is but one legal life insurance, and that is 
the assurance which God gives us. All the rest are 
counterfeits. We can best approach the merits of 



90 THE MESSAGE 

this question by meditating upon the testimony of 
Scripture : 

"Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve 
them alive, and let thy widows trust in me M (Jer. 
49:11). 

"It is better to trust in the Lord than to put 
confidence in man" (Psa. 118:8). 

"I have been young, and now am old ; and yet 
have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed 
begging bread" (Psa. 37:25). 

"I will never leave thee nor forsake thee" (Heb. 
13:5). 

The whole Bible rings with assurance of God's 
faithfulness, and goodness and promise to care for 
His own. Yet it is the business of life insurance 
companies to make all men (who are able to pay at 
least a few premiums) dissatisfied with their lot 
unless they have their lives insured in some worldly 
company. We have the following objections to this 
form of life insurance : 

1. It is false security, as God alone can insure 
lives. 

2. It undermines trust in God. 

3. It is not a sound business investment, as on 
the average less than half the money paid in prem- 
iums finds its way back to the policy holders. 

4. It is a continual drain upon the pocket-books 
of the masses, transferring yearly several hundred 
millions of dollars, from the wealth of the public into 
the coffers of rich corporations. 

5. It is a form of gambling, with human life 
as the element of chance. 



BIBLE RESTRICTIONS 91 

6. It makes merchandise of human life. 

7. It often undermines family affections. 

8. It offers an unscriptural way of providing 
for your own. . 

9. Its corrupting influences have been such that 
courts and legislatures, have been called upon to 
light the work of its paid lobbies. 

The whole system shows the folly of man turn- 
ing aside from the sure promises of God and taking 
up a substitute whiah has covetousnes<s for its basis. 

Questions 

1. When do Christian principles become re- 
strictions? 

2. What is the value of Bible restrictions? 
Why should Christian people give heed to them? 

3. . State, in your own words, the Bible doctrine 
of Nonconformity to the world. Does it restrict us 
in our Chistian liberty? Give reasons for your 
answer. 

4. Why was the oath permitted under the Old 
Covenant and forbidden in the New? 

5. Give five of your strongest reasons why 
Christian people should hold themselves aloof from 
war; why both combatant and noncombatant mili- 
tary service are in violation of the peace principles of 
the New Testament. 

6. What are your best reasons for opposing 
labor unions? 

7. It is claimed that Jesus was a prominent 
Mason. Can you disprove it? 



92 THE MESSAGE 

8. Thousands of widows have been kept above 
want because of their deceased husbands' life in- 
surance policies. Is not therefore life insurance a 
good thing? 

9. What are the richest blessings resulting 
from a faithful heeding of Bible restrictions? 

Outline of Bible Restrictions 

Statement of the 
Restriction References Doctrine Remarks 

Nonconformity 

to the World 

Nonresistance 

Swearing of Oaths 

Secret Societies 



Life Insurance 



Suggestion: Let each member of the class reproduce 
this outline on paper or blackboard of sufficient size and 
carefully fill out the blank spaces. 



CHAPTER IX 

THE BLESSED HOPE 

Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appear- 
ing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ. — 
Tit. 2:13. 

Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and 
honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for- 
ever and ever. Amen. — Rev. 7:12. 

The scene of our Savior's departure from earth 
to heaven was a most impressive one. It was "here 
that He commanded them not to depart out of Jeru- 
salem until they should be endued with power from 
on high. After commissioning them to be His wit- 
nesses in all the world He was parted from them 
and took His triumphant flight to glory. What must 
have been the feeling of the disciples on this occa- 
sion. They saw Him ascend, until a cloud received 
Him out of their sight. What does all this mean! 
They had seen Him perform many miracles, even 
the miracle of the Cross ; but they had never seen 
a sight that equaled this. Though He had dis- 
appeared, they kept looking heavenward. 

About this time there appeared to them, stood 
with them, two men in white apparel. They were 
angels of Gk>d, sent there to bring them this, cheer- 
ing message : ' 'Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye 
gazing into heaven? This same Jesus, which is 
taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like 
manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." 

Did they believe it? They certainly did. Though 
they did not receive the spiritual discernment of the 



94 THE MESSAGE 

Word until the enduement of power at Pentecost, 
they returned to Jerusalem and there abode in the 
spirit of worship and praise until that time came. 
The remarkable demonstration of power on the day 
of Pentecost was an eye-opener to the multitudes, 
and three thousand souls were brought into the 
Kingdom. It was the beginning of the work that 
will be completed when Jesus Christ will appear the 
second time in the clouds, as prophesied by the men 
in white apparel. 

This hope — "that blessed hope," as Paul calls it 
— has been the Christians' consolation since the day 
this vision of Christ's second coming was, given. 
Paul sums up the whole of the Christians' experience 
and vision as follows : u For the grace of God that 
bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teach- 
ing us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lus,ts, 
we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in 
this present world; looking for that blessed hope, 
and the glorious appearing of our great God and our 
Savior Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that 
he might redeem us, from all iniquity, and purify 
unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good 
works. These things teach" (Tit. 2:11-15). 

It is this blessed hope that thrills the souls of 
God's believing children and heirs of glory, and 
makes life, for them, worth the living. Paul had a 
true conception of it when in the mids,t of trials he 
cried out, "I reckon that the sufferings of this pres- 
ent time are not worthy to be compared with the 
glory that shall be revealed." When upon the brink 
of eternity and knowing that "the time of my de- 
parture is at hand," he could look beyond the nar- 



THE BLESSED HOPE 95 

row stream which separates time from eternity and 
say, "Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of 
righteousness." Stephen looked forward with the 
same hope, the angelic look upon his face giving evi- 
dence of the peace of God within his, soul. Our 
Master (who drank sorrow's cup to the last dregs, 
was yet able to say, "I have meat to eat that ye 
know not of") has this message of cheer to those 
who are groaning under the rod of persecution : "Re- 
joice, and be exceeding glad ; for great is your re- 
ward in heaven." "Be of good cheer," said He when 
telling His disciples of coming tribulations, "I have 
overcome the world." This hope is, as Paul tells us, 
the "anchor of the soul" impelling us to move for- 
ward, looking steadfastly toward our reward, know- 
ing that our "labor is not in vain in the Lord." 

Let us notice briefly a few things connected 
with the Christian's hope: 

1. God is faithful to every promise, and never 
forsakes His own. 

David says, "Though I walk through the valley 
of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou 
art with me." The people of God have this blessed 
assurance from their Master : "I will never leave 
thee nor forsake thee." In the midst of the storms, 
and tempests of this life we may press forward with 
and brightest of hopes, for "we know that all things 
work together for good to them that love God." In 
the brightest hours of life, when the shadow of suffer- 
ing or distress is for the time being cast aside, the 
sunshine of heaven in the soul is all the more 
radiant, for we know that it is only a foretaste of 
something still better and more glorious farther on. 



96 THE MESSAGE 

Because God has proven Himself faithful to every 
promise, and because of the promise of greater, 
brighter things ahead, the hope of the Christian fills 
his soul with good cheer, impels him to press on 
trustfully, having the blessed assurance that God 
will be with us to the end. 

2. Christ is coming again. 

The two men in white apparel were not the 
first to tell about the Lord's second coming. Christ 
Himself tells of the time when "the Son of man shall 
come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him" 
(Matt. 25:31). There is nothing in all the teachings 
of Jesus that is more clearly and emphatically taught 
than the fact that in the fulness of time He is com- 
ing again. 

When the apostles went forth as the oracles of 
God to preach the things pertaining to the everlast- 
ing Kingdom, they made it known very clearly and 
emphatically that Jesus is coming again. Perhaps 
the clearest of all these prophecies recorded in the 
epistolary writings is that found in I Thes. 4:16-18 
where among other things Paul says, "The Lord 
himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, 
with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump 
of God." The same emphatic truth is taught by the 
other disciples, and not a hint is to be found any- 
where in holy writ that the Lord's coming will be 
otherwise than an actual, personal, literal coming 
again, for the purpose stated in connection with the 
prophecies concerning His second coming. 

The second coming of Christ should be regarded 
with all the more seriousness because there will be 
millions who will not share the joys connected with 



THE BLESSED HOPE 97 

His coming, nor with the blessings to follow. In 
II Thes. 1 :7-9 we are told that "when the Lord 
Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty 
angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance upon them 
that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of 
our Lord Jesus Christ," these wicked and apostate 
ones will be "punished with everlasting destruction 
from the presence of the Lord." The same verse 
(Jno. 5:29) that tells of "the resurrection of life^ 
also tells of "the resurrection of damnation.'' The 
same day that will be accounted a "great" day for 
the ransomed of the Lord, will be adjudged a "dread- 
ful" day for thos,e who at that time will be calling 
to the rocks and mountains to fall upon them to hide 
them from the face of Him who sitteth on the throne. 
It is a dreadful thought! — one that should impel 
every faithful, redeemed child of God to spare 
neither pains nor effort in the great work of rescuing 
the greatest possible number of doomed souls from 
such an awful destiny. 

Another thing to be noted in connection with 
our Lord's return is, the uncertainty as to the time 
of His coming. Christ Himself says that the day 
and hour are known to no man. While reading the 
signs of the times as they are reflected in Matthew 
24 and other prophetic writings we are convinced 
that the time of His coming is near; yet we should 
not forget that the Lord's way of reckoning time — a 
day as a thousand years and a thousand years as a 
day — makes it uncertain as to the exact time accord- 
ing to the human way of reckoning time. All this, 
knowing that the time is at hand, makes it all the 
more urgent that we heed the Savior's warning — 



ioo THE MESSAGE 

3. It should make us humble in the sight of 
the Lord, feeling, as we must that we are not worthy 
of the least of all His blessings upon us. 

4. It should prompt us to live to the glory of 
God and the salvation and spiritual uplift of fellow 
men. 

5. It should prompt us to be His faithful wit- 
nesses, missing no opportunity to make His Word 
and will known to others. 

6. It should prompt us to live a life of sacri- 
fice, making ourselves "of no reputation/' looking to 
Jesus, as our example, spending our lives and our 
substance in the great cause of evangelizing the 
world. 

7. "Every man that hath this hope in him 
purifieth himself, even as he is pure." 

We who know r from experience what it is to be 
redeemed from sin, born again, filled with the Spirit 
and thrilled with this blessed hope, should miss no 
opportunity to get others within the sphere of this 
blessed experience, having the full confidence that 
our labor "is not in vain in the Lord." 

Questions 

1. What is the origin of the Christian's hope? 

2. Discuss the results of a false hope. 

3. What is embodied in the Christian's, hope? 
How does it compare with a delusion? 

4. Why and how is hope the "anchor of the 
soul?" 

5. Is there a possibility of a man dying with- 
out hope and yet being eternally saved? Give rea- 
sons for your answer. 



THE BLESSED HOPE 101 

6. What may we as individuals do to impart 
this blessed hope to others? 

7. What is the influence of such hope upon our 
lives? 

8. Is your vision of the future inspiring* or de- 
pressing? Why? 



PART II 



THE MESSAGE-BEARER 



WHO SHALL BE THE MESSAGE-BEARER? 

"Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" 
was the clarion call which rung in the ears of Isaiah. 
That same question is ringing in the ears of thou- 
sands of blood-cleansed soldiers of the cross today ; 
for as we look at the millions in home and foreign 
lands who are as "sheep without a shepherd" the 
question comes home to us: "How sjiall they hear 
without a preacher?" 

It is a well known fact that the world gets its 
idea of the Gospel from the character and lives of 
those who pose as its champions ; also that the 
question of its acceptance or rejection depends large- 
ly upon the way in which it is, presented. This 
places a two-fold responsibility upon the message- 
bearer: (1) that of being a worthy example for 
others to follow; (2) that of presenting the Gospel 
in a convincing, forceful, faithful, winning way. 

Who then shall bear the message of salvation to 
a lost and dying world? 

1. They who know by experience what it is 
to be ''born again.'' 

2. They whose life is in harmony with their 
profession, and whose profession is in harmony with 
the Word of God. 

3. They who believe the entire message of the 
Gospel, and make it the rule of their lives to put all 
of its teachings to practical use in daily life. 

4. They who are scripturally qualified to fill 
the places to which they are called, able to present 



106 THE MESSAGE-BEARER 

the Word of God with convincing and convicting 
power. 

5. They who are physically and temperamen- 
tally qualified to make sacrifices, and to "endure 
hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. " 

6. They who would fill a larger and more use- 
ful sphere as message-bearers than in some other 
line of work equally as important in promoting the 
cause of Christ among men. 

7. They who have been purified by the Lord 
and set apart by the Holy Ghost for this work. 

8. They in whose soul there is a burning zeal 
to bring the Gospel to the lost and the lost to Jesus 
Christ our Savior and Lord. 



CHAPTER I 
THE CALL 

Whom shall I send, and who will go? — Isa. 6:S. 
Hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered 
for us. — I Pet. 2:21. 

God works through human instrumentality. We 
may or may not know why this plan is better than 
in some other way, but we know that it is so. Moses 
was His, mediator in the days of Israel's deliverance 
from Egypt, John the Baptist was the forerunner 
of Christ, the Gospel was brought to earth through 
God in the form of a man, the Church is commis- 
sioned to bring this Gospel to the world. Through 
Peter the Gospel door swung open to the Gentiles, 
through Philip the light was opened up to the 
eunuch that he might receive it and carry it to 
Ethiopia, and through Paul and his companions, the 
Gospel wave was swept into Europe. 

The greatest hindrance to the work of getting 
God and His Word in touch with all mankind has 
been the lack of consecration on the part of those 
bearing the name of Jesus. In other words, too 
many so-called Christians are not on the altar, so 
God is unable to get hold of them and use them in 
His service. The Master needs workers — workers 
to work the home field, workers to €pen up the work 
in other fields, workers to serve as planters and 
workers for waterers, workers of various kinds, and 
qualifications. As in the days of Christ, the harvest 
is still plenteous, the laborers still few. 



108 THE MESSAGE-BEARER 

In our efforts to throw Gospel light upon work- 
ers, and their work we shall first take up the matter 
of their call. In fact, there are several calls with 
which we are vitally concerned and which should 
receive the prayerful consideration of us all. The 
first of these is 

The Call to Salvation 

This call is universal. Hear the call from the 
court of heaven: "Look unto me, and be ye saved, 
all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there 
is none else" (Isa. 45:22). From this invitation we 
get two thoughts: (1) All people, in every clime 
and age, are included in this call. (2) The call is 
made by the only One who has the authority to 
make it and the power to make it good, and an 
acceptance of it is the only way to salvation. Again, 
let us listen to the voice of Jesus : "God so loved 
the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that 
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but 
have everlasting life" (Jno. 3:16). This verse not 
only emphasizes the "whosoever" idea but it is also 
a reminder to all the faithful that since God made a 
great sacrifice to bring about the conversion of the 
whole world we should co-operate with Him in this 
great cause. Peter, writing by inspiration of God, 
assures us that it is not God's w r ill that any should 
perish (II Pet. 3:9), and Paul adds his testimony by 
saying that "God hath not appointed us to wrath, 
but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ" 
(I Thes. 5:9). The call to salvation is universal and 
for every generation. Let us do our best that all the 
world may get the newsu God has not only sent out 



THE CALL 109 

the call, but through the merits of the Blood He has 
made it possible that all may accept, if we will. 

The Call to Service 

The call to salvation also means a call to service. 
Only let us keep these two calls in their proper 
order. The question, "Whom shall I send, and who 
will go for us?" was heard by Isaiah only after he 
had been cleansed. So our call to service comes 
only upon the condition that we accept the call to 
salvation. While God may use unconverted men 
as instruments in promoting His cause and blessing 
His children (as in the case of Nebuchadnezzar and 
Cyrus) the fact of such service never gives them a 
place in the grace of God nor in the Church of God. 
Unconverted men should be encouraged to seek and 
to accept salvation before they are encouraged to 
do anything else. Unconverted men in the Church, 
especially if their intellectual qualities win for them 
a place of leadership, are a curse to the Church. 

But all who have accepted the call to salvation 
have before them a call to service. "Behold, I have 
set before thee an open door/' is true of every child 
of God. We are servants. It is not for us to say 
whether we wish to be servants or not. That point 
is settled. God has so created us that we can not 
but be servants, whether we choose to be servants 
of God or not. The only thing that is left for our 
decision is the matter of a choice of masters. The 
prodigal son wanted to be absolutely free ; but it 
was only a question of time until he discovered 
himself to be the most servile kind of a servant, and 
it was only then that he came to himself. Many, 



no THE MESSAGE-BEARER 

like this wayward son and like Manasseh in prison, 
only awaken to the fact of their slavery in sin when 
they begin to feel the chains upon their persons. 
Yes, we are all servants — "Be ye not the servants of 
men." "Know ye not that to whom ye yield your- 
selves servants, his servants ye are to whom ye 
obey?" "Choose ye this day whom ye will serve." 
Only remember this, that the service of God is the 
service of freedom. "When the Son therefore shall 
make you free, ye shall be free indeed." 

We consider, therefore, that when we are called 
to salvation we are called from the service of sin and 
Satan to the service of God; that when we accept 
freedom and salvation we accept service in the fold 
of Christ. When therefore one volunteers for mis- 
sion work or service in one of the institutions of the 
Church it is not a volunteering for service but a 
volunteering for service of a different kind from 
that which he had been rendering. Indeed, it is very 
risky to admit to a position of responsibility any 
one who has been inactive. A failure to be in the 
service of Christ looks like a failure to have accept- 
ed His condition of salvation. Let this fact never be 
overlooked — from the time we were saved from sin 
we have been in the service of Jesus Christ. All 
members — ministers, deacons, missionaries, teachers, 
superintendents, officials, non-officials, everybody — 
ought to be alike interested in the work of the Lord, 
alive in His service. Let no one imagine that be- 
cause he is not a minister or missionary he is there- 
fore not in the service of his Master. If we are not 
alive in the service, we are not loyal members. 

Stating the same fact negatively, let us remeni- 



THE CALL in 

ber that service is not confined to holding official 
positions or doing public work. Some of the most 
effective work is done by obscure members upon 
bended knees with no one but God and self near. 
Consistent Christian living, Bible reading, prayer, 
faithful testimony in ordinary conversation, the 
keeping of the home befitting the servants of God, 
faithful attendance at church services, visiting the 
sick, caring for the needy, helping the public serv- 
ants bear their burdens — these are a few of the many 
ways in which faithful soldiers of the cross may be 
in the service of their Master. Naturally, of course, 
when we are faithful in our service our tongues and 
hands enter into it; so that no true dis,ciple of our 
Lord will long be a secret one. There is no inside 
religion that will not manifest itself on the outside. 
The one remaining thought that we wish to give 
in connection to this call to service is this: Since we 
are called to service, let us apply ourselves, diligently 
to the end that our service may be acceptable in His 
sight and count for the most in winning souls for 
the Kingdom. Read carefully and prayerfully I Tim. 
4:16 and II Tim. 2:15. 

The Call to Special Service 

This may be to some special line of work, or it 
may be to some special field. We have a concrete 
illustration in Saul of Tarsus. He was called to 
some special line of work when the Holy Ghost said 
to the Church at Antioch, "Separate me Barnabas 
and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them ,, 
(Acts 13:2). He had previously had premonitions 
of this call, but here was the direct call. He was 



ii2 THE MESSAiGE-BEARER 

called to a special field when the Holy Ghost forbade 
him to preach in Asia and in a vision he was called 
to Macedonia. We do not all have the same mani- 
festations of the call that Paul had, but it is the 
same Holy Ghost that calls, and it is through the 
instrumentality of the same Christian Church that 
the different individuals are ordained to their God- 
called places or sent into the field or fields as direct- 
ed by the Holy Ghost. From these illustrations we 
gather three things: 

1. God calls people for special lines of work, 
and through the instrumentality of the Church He 
gets them to the places where He wants them. 
(Here a caution may be needed. Some, imagining 
themselves to be called to the ministry or some other 
calling, feel called upon to take the Church in charge 
and make the Church ordain them, when they ought 
to leave this work to the Lord.) Paul was no more 
active after his call to the apostleship than he was 
before, but he did what he could wherever he was, 
leaving it to the Lord when he should take up the 
work in the line for which God had especially quali- 
fied him. And in this connection it might be well 
to notice that whenever God calls a servant to a 
certain work He also moves the Church to set him 
apart to that work. In every normal church we may 
safely look for three things when one is called of the 
Lord for a special work: (1) scriptural qualifications, 
(2) promptings by the Spirit, (3) action by the 
Church. 

2. God gives, special calls to those who are en- 
listed in special lines of work. This may be in some 
particular field without changing the nature of work 






THE CALL 113 

(as was the case when Paul was called to Europe) 
or it may be a call from some special line of work to 
some other special line (as in the case when, for 
instance, a missionary is called to do pastoral work 
or take up the work of teaching). In each case, if 
we are prayerful and faithful and patient, God will 
make it plain to us whether the call is of God or 
from some other source, 

3. These calk are determined by the needs of 
special causes, by the circumstances of the present, 
and by the peculiar qualifications of the one thus, 
called. To be called from one sphere of labor to 
another does not mean a failure in that which you 
were engaged, nor even that you are better qualified 
for the work to which you are now being called ; but 
rather that the nature of the circumstances is s<uch 
at this time that you can do a greater work for God 
in this particular place or cause. 

God directs Spirit-controlled servants to labor 
in fields that will bring about best results,. We can 
trust Him to direct in these matters. The only 
thing that we need to concern ourselves about is 
this : Is this the call of the Lord, or is it a call from 
other sources. 

Another thought worthy of notice is this: Since 
God takes, such an active part in directing the work 
of His servants, let its not fail to let Him have full 
right-of-way in our affairs. Neither our own de- 
sires, the desires of our friends, homes, occupations, 
nor preconceived plans of what our life-work should 
be should stand in the way of letting the Lord have 
His way with us* The supreme work before us is to 
do that which will count most in winning souls for 



ii 4 THE MESSAGE-BEARER 

the Master and building them up in Christ. The 
rest matters little in comparison with this great 
object in life. The Lord being much wiser than 
ourselves, Ave can trust Him to choose our work for 
us. 

The Call to Glory 

It is this, call which inspires us to promptness 
in answering the other calls just considered. It is 
natural for man to want to see what is ahead. God 
has wisely withheld the details of the future from 
our knowledge, but He leaves no earnest seeker 
after His will in doubt as to the rewards ahead. 
Millions have been thrilled with the invitation, 
"Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the king- 
dom.'' The invitation, "Come up higher," has en- 
couraged millions to press on over hard places and 
in the midst of heavy burdens that otherwise might 
have fainted by the way. It is the call that moves 
us to press on and do our best for the Lord and the 
Lord's caus,e. It is a positive help and strength to 
be able to say, 4t This one thing I do; forgetting 
those things that are behind, and reaching forth 
unto those things that are before, I press toward the 
mark." It is that blessed hope, the "anchor of the 
soul," that spurs on to nobler effort, to greater 
heights. Thank God for the call all along the line. 
Let us obey, unhesitatingly, every one of them. 

Summary 

Briefly let us summarize: 

1. God calls us all to salvation; not one is ex- 
cluded. This call is made unconditionally, whether 
we knew it or not, whether we are inclined to heed 



THE CALL 115 

it or not. "Few are chosen/' because the many re- 
ject the call. 

2. God calls to service, all who heed His call to 
salvation. We are not to wait for any call to special 
lines of work, but faithful service is expected of us 
from the time we enter the fold of Jesus. 

3. From among those who are faithful in Chris- 
tian service and loyalty, God calls men and women 
to special Hnes of work and fields of labor. This 
being the work of the Church as well as of the Lord, 
the call is made through the direction of the Holy 
Spirit and the instrumentality of the Church. 

4. They who prove themselves, faithful in serv- 
ice, and continue so to the end, have the welcome 
call of "come up higher" awaiting them at the close 
of life's' journey. 

Questions 

1. What is included in the call to salvation? 

2. What are we to conclude when those claim- 
ing to have answered the call to salvation make no 
effort to serve God and the Church? 

3. What is the practical value of the laying on 
of hands on the part of the Church? 

4. When one claims to have a call to preach, 
and the Church neglects to recognize the claim, 
whose fault is it? Give reasons for your answer. 

5. Discuss the subject, "The Call and its Cost/' 

6. How does the call to glory affect the other 
calls? 

7. How many of these calls have you had? 



CHAPTER II 

QUALIFICATIONS 

(Natural) 

To every man according to his several ability. — Matt. 

25:15. 

Unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much 

required. — Luke 12:48. 

We accept the self-evident truth that God never 
calls any one into service without also qualifying 
that person for the place desired to be filled. The 
diversified gifts with which God has endowed His 
people is both an evidence of the wisdom of God in 
preparing His servants to perform the many differ- 
ent kinds of work and meet the numerous problems 
confronting the Christian Church. The boldness of 
Peter, the tenderness of John, the caution of Thomas, 
the quietness of Andrew, the judicial mind of James,, 
the business-like qualities of Judas, and the single- 
mindedness of Paul were all needed in the apostolic 
Church. Do you put a question mark after the name 
of Judas? Yes, Judas' gold, like Peter's tongue, got 
him into trouble — but not until he forgot to keep it 
on the altar. 

Having before us, the great work of bringing 
the Gospel before the whole world, we shall confine 
ourselves in this chapter to the qualifications needed 
for this kind of service, keeping in mind especially 
the qualities belonging to the ideal missionary. 
Naturally our subject is too large for one chapter, so 
we shall consider the natural qualifications in this 



QUALIFICATIONS 117 

chapter, reserving the consideration of spiritual 
qualifications for the next chapter. To fill the larg- 
est place in the work of the Church in bringing 
Christ to the unsaved and the unsaved to Christ, the 
following qualities should be in evidence : 

1. A Strong, Healthy Body. — Other things be- 
ing equal, the more vigorous the body, the greater 
the power for good. We trust that we may be 
understood in this, matter. We know of people of 
feeble health who are a power for God in the service 
of God and man; but this does not change the other 
fact that with like consecration and Christian loyalty 
they would be still more useful if their otherwise 
splendid qualities would be reinforced with vigorous 
health and physical strength. Good health means 
much for good service. Many a prospective mission- 
ary has been compelled to give up his life plans be- 
cause of ill health, and many missionaries on the 
field have been practical failures for similar cause. 

2. A Good, Moral Character. — This borders on 
the spiritual phase of the missionary's qualifications, 
but not necessarily so. We know of people who are 
at least an average in morals and respectability and 
who make no pretensions to Christianity. But what- 
ever you may have to say about the moral man out 
of Christ, it is inconceivable that any one should be 
an immoral man in Christ. "True as steel" should 
be the record of every worker in every Fime of 
temptation. When we speak of u good moral char- 
acter" we speak of the character of the man or 
woman who is habitually pure in thought, chaste in 
speech, upright and honest in business life, above 
reproach in conduct toward members of the opposite 



u8 THE MESSAGE-BEARER 

sex, with constitutional contempt for everything that 
is low and vulgar, vile and impure, pusillanimous 
and silly. The man who delights in stale, smutty 
yarns is not to be trusted in the company of mem- 
bers of the opposite sex, though he acts like an angel 
in mixed company. The aim of every pure-minded 
man or woman is so to live that his, or her mind may 
be photographed at any time without reflection on 
the character, or the speech reproduced in writing 
and make edifying reading in public or private. 
Follow this rule, and there will be no spot on your 
character or your record. 

3. An Intellectual Mind. — God despises no man 
because of a lack of native ability ; but that does not 
change the fact that a strong intellect, on the altar, 
is able to accomplish more for God than a weak one. 
This is not to discourage the one-talented brother 
but rather to emphasize the fact that the five-talen»> 
ed brother has a responsibility which the less tal- 
ented brother does not have. Just now there comes 
to mind a certain religious denomination that owes 
its growth largely to the fact that it makes a special- 
ty in getting its most talented men into the ministry. 
The brightest of intellects are not too bright to shine 
for God. They are needed in the forefront of re- 
ligious endeavor at home and abroad. 

4. A Normal Mind. — Some who are talented 
intellectually are disqualified from an intellectual 
standpoint because their minds are not normal. You 
are never sure whether you can depend upon them, 
for they are not well balanced. Their usefulness is 
greatly marred because of occasional breaks or atti- 
tudes which spoil more than all the good they may 



QUALIFICATIONS 119 

do. The first thing to ask about a man's intellectual 
capacity is, Is he normal? The normal mind is 
capable of development, whether in the beginning it 
is small or large. 

5. Social Powers. — The magnetic touch means 
much in personal work. Friendship draws, lack of 
it repels. When you add the fervor of the Holy 
Spirit to a naturally amiable disposition, you have a 
power which means the winning of many souls for 
God. Thaw out, if you would do your best for God. 
Prove yourself friendly, if you would have friends, 
remembering that it takes the love of God shed 
abroad in the heart to enable you to develop a 
sociability which enables you to draw souls heaven- 
ward rather than earthward. 

6. Music. — Music is the voice of the soul. 
There is a charm and a power about it that has no 
substitutes. The mission worker with a musical 
voice and a capacity to lead and to get others en- 
thused in song has a great asset in his favor. It is 
to be regretted that the modern craze for light, 
giddy, operatic music has unfitted the masses for 
real soul-stirring, worshipful singing. But the case 
is not hopeless. After all, there is nothing that 
reaches the heart like the good, inspiring, old fa- 
miliar hymns with the heart-string of heaven at- 
tached to them, and the singing leader whose soul 
is, in that kind of music has an avenue by which he 
can reach the souls of men that others do not pos- 
sess. Neglect not this gift. 

7. Capacity for Hard Work. — The work of the 
missionary calls for great hardships and self-denial. 
It is the hard-working missionary that accomplishes 



120 THE MESSAGE-NEARER 

results for God. Carey in India, Judson in Burma, 
Paton in the South Sea Islands, Livingstone in 
Africa, and dozens of other successful missionaries 
are all examples, of the truth just stated. Who has 
not been impressed, when reading the lives of such 
great leaders of thought and action as Paul, Peter 
Waldo, John Wyciiffe, John Huss, Menno Simons, 
and others who gave their lives to the cause of 
Christ, that along with their great faith there was 
also a great capacity for hard work and endurance 
under severest trials. It takes this stamp of char- 
acter to achieve success. The missionary who seeks 
the easy places is a failure to start with. The work- 
er who looks for easy places and positions of honor 
may have sufficient charms of person and political 
pull to win the plaudits of men, but in the sight of 
God he is but an unprofitable drone. God wants 
men and women who have the grit to tackle hard 
jobs and the capacity to stand hard work and lots 
of it. 

8. Steady Nerves. — "Not easily provoked" is 
one of the scriptural qualifications of the bishop. 
It is also one of the very desirable qualities of the 
successful missionary. It is generally conceded that 
worry kills more people than hard work doea Worry 
comes only at the end of jaded or cracked nerves ; 
that is, people worry because the nerves are too near 
the surface. Do you say that control should be left 
in the hands of God? Right you are; but we should 
give God a chance. "In patience possess ye your 
souls." Irritability is a positive hindrance to success 
in any line of work. Just now there comes to mind 
the case of two noted statesmen who became ene- 



QUALIFICATIONS 121 

mies though they belonged to the same political 
party. The one towered high above the other intel- 
lectually, yet because he was exceedingly irritable 
and his opponent had steady nerves he was a mere 
baby in the hands of his less talented opponent. It 
shows what an advantage it is to have the capacity 
of self control. It is the faithful, hopeful, cheerful, 
well-balanced worker that accomplishes things. 

9. Perseverance. — A very striking object-lesson 
may be found in the programs of public meetings 
held many years ago. If you have any of that kind 
it would be well for you to examine a few of them. 
On these programs you see the names of some who 
at that time seemed men of promise, but they have 
long since disappeared from view. Some are buried 
in business, others out of the Church altogether. 
On the sjame programs are to be found the names of 
those less prominent some ten or twenty years ago 
but who are now at the head of congregations. 
Look over your ten-year-old list of volunteers for 
home and foreign mission work. Where are they 
today? Some on the mission field, but by far the 
greater number — somewhere else. 

Examine into the causes, and you will find that 
one great word that figures in these causes is per- 
severance — or the lack of it. Some were in the work 
for life, others — -till they changed their notions. 
It is the former kind that won results. PERSE- 
VERANCE is a qualification that belongs to every 
successful worker for God. 

10. Application. — It is possible to be possessed 
with great courage and perseverance to stick to your 



122 THE MESSAGE-BEARER 

task to the end, and yet waste much time and energy 
for want of proper application. Every worker, to do 
his best, studies, his problems. He meets his prob- 
lems best, and solves them most effectively, who 
diligently applies himself to his task, prepares to 
meet it, and meets it intelligently. Close application 
to the issue at hand means much in the way of over- 
coming obstacles and accomplishing best results. 
Let us study and work to a purpose. 

11. Hopefulness. — One man undertakes a task 
and expects to fail. Another undertakes a similar 
task and expects to win. While it is possible for 
both to be disappointed, it is more likely that both 
will get what they expect. Hope is not only the 
"anchor of the soul" but it is often the life-saver 
that keeps us from drowning on our voyage of life. 
We are not talking ^bout the blind optimism which 
expects a future state of the world which the Bible 
says will never be in this age, but father that real 
optimism which takes God at His Word, believes all 
that He says, and presses forward hopefully though 
the immediate future seems dark. Stephen saw 
through the shower of stones and beheld the glory 
beyond. Paul looked beyond prison walls and be- 
held the crown of righteousness sure to come. John 
Buny&n looked beyond the Bedford jail and saw 
greater triumphs lahead. Our forefathers saw be- 
yond the dreary present which meant a martyr's 
death for most of them, and we now rejoice in the 
results of their hope. Let us go forth with full faith 
that our "labor is not in vain in the Lord;" that 
souls will be won for the Lord, and that at the close 
of life's pilgrimage we will come to the great harvest 



QUALIFICATIONS 123 

field with many golden sheaves to gladden the Lord 
of the harvest. 

Questions 

1. What is a missionary? 

2. Who are called to do mission work? 

3. What is to determine whether we shall be 
home or foreign missionaries? 

4. Is God or man responsible for our qualifica- 
tions for mission work? 

5. Distinguish between natural and spiritual 
qualifications. 

6. There are those who refuse to give them- 
selves over to God and the Church to be used as 
God and the Church direct, giving as their reason 
that they are "doing the best they can." What have 
you to s^y with reference to their excuse? 

7. Is brilliancy a help or a hindrance in Chris- 
tian service? Give reasons for your answer. 

8. What has consecration to do with the quali- 
fications named in this chapter? 



CHAPTER III 

QUALIFICATIONS 

(Spiritual) 

Full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom. — Acts 6:& 

The same commit thou to faithful men. — II Tim. 2:2,. 

All the qualities mentioned in the preceding 
chapter may be possessed by unconverted people. 
One may be intelligent, sympathetic, generous to a 
fault, upright in business, morally pure, neighborly, 
the possessor of high ideals, and still be a lost sinner. 
Let us carry this point still farther. It is possible 
for one to have all the qualities named, and besides 
these be a church member in good standing morally, 
socially, intellectually, an actual observer of all the 
rules and regulations of his church — and still be 
without salvation. Going through the motion of be- 
ing a Christian does not make the Christian. Chris- 
tianity is a matter of heart experience. The things 
we mentioned are but the fruits of it. 

Too many people mistake moral cleansing for 
regeneration. They see a man cleaned up morally — 
he stops drinking, swearing, puts away his tobacco, 
gives up all evil habits, professes religion, unites 
with the Church, and obeys its rules. People think 
that surely he is now a converted man. These 
changes are certainly excellent signs — changes that 
will surely take place when one degraded in sin be- 
comes a child of God; but it is possible to go through 
the motion of all these things and the soul remain 



QUALIFICATIONS 125 

dead in sin. "Except a man be born again, he can not 
see the kingdom of God." "In Christ Jesus neither 
circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, 
but a new creature." The outer life is important; 
the inner life essential. Read Eph. 2:5-10 and Tit. 
3 :3-7. 

The successful missionary needs the qualifica- 
tions noted in the preceding chapter ; also the spir- 
itual qualifications to be named in this chapter. 

1. "Full of the Holy Ghost."— This was an 
essential requirement of all members called to of- 
ficial positions in the apostolic Church. It was the 
first qualification mentioned in connection with the 
setting apart of the seven deacons (Acts 6:1-6) even 
though their specified work was to provide for the 
material wants of the needy. It is important that 
preachers, deacons, missionaries, teachers, choristers, 
janitors, and all other workers in the Church be both 
Spirit-filled and Spirit-guided ; for no matter what 
may be the nature of the work done or position 
filled, these officials come in touch with the people 
and exert some kind of an influence. When the 
Spirit of God takes possession of the soul, quickens 
the life, and directs the energies of the individual it 
means much in the way of strengthening the other 
qualifications needed for efficient service. 

2. Fellowship with God. — This suggests the 
power of influence. It means much to be in fellow- 
ship with saints, especially those whose influence is 
of the decidedly positive and helpful character. Fel- 
lowship with God is even more essential to spiritual 
life and growth. It is possible to live spiritually for 
a time without being in sight of a fellow believer, 



126 THE MESSAGE-BEARER 

but it is not possible to live spiritually even for a 
limited time without fellowship and companionship 
with God. We sometimes sing — 

"Walk daily with your Savior 
In fellowship of love," 

which means much in the way of protection against 
the power of temptation as well as encouragement 
to live a consistent Christian life. They who know 
themselves to be in fellowship with God are not so 
liable to be led away with divers temptations as 
those who see nothing but earth in their surround- 
ings. "Walk daily with your Savior/' and you will 
walk the upward path of purity and righteousness. 
They who make this the rule of their lives will never 
darken the doors of theaters, movies, saloons, gam- 
ing rooms, etc., except on missions of rescue. 

3. The Prayer Life. — The test of this kind of a 
life is not the public prayer, for one may be ever so 
fluent in saying public prayers and still be very 
neglectful in keeping up the touch with God in 
frequent, fervent prayers when no one besides God 
and self has any knowledge that such prayers are 
being offered. Christ in the garden, wrestling with 
the Father in prayer; Daniel by the window that 
was open toward Jerusalem, though he knew that 
such a course would land him in the lions' den ; 
Moses before God, counseling with Him in matters 
of responsibility; Hezekiah laying Sennacherib's let- 
ter before the Lord, when that haughty Assyrian 
had threatened his life and his kingdom; Elijah upon 
Mt. Carmel, the Church in Mary's house, Stephen in 
the dying hour, and many other instances might be 
cited as throwing light upon the prayer life. Prayer 



QUALIFICATIONS 127 

is the breath of God within the soul seeking its own. 
There is an inseparable link between prayer and 
power. See that you get the habit. "Men ought 
always to pray." "In everything, by prayer and 
supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be 
made known unto God." 

4. Ready to Obey. — This is one of the essential 
qualifications of the Christian workers. "If ye love 
me," says Christ, "keep my commandments." Again 
He says, "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever 
I commanded you." On one occasion He says, 
"Why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things 
which I say?" John puts the matter very forcibly 
when he says, "He that saith, I know him, and keep- 
eth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth 
is not in him." So we want to speak about obedience 
not merely as a very important thing, but as a very 
essential thing in every believer. It is important 
that every teacher of righteousness recognizes that, 
for a number of reasons : 

a. There is no promise in the Bible for the dis- 
obedient. 

b. All teachers, in order to do effective work, 
must be "ensamples to the flock." 

c. It is only they who "from the heart" are 
obedient to God and hence obey Him out of convic- 
tion, that have the power to drive conviction into the 
hearts of other people. 

d. They who themselves are impressed with 
the necessity of obeying God fully in all things are 
sure to preach the whole Gospel faithfully to others. 

So much with reference to obedience to God. 
Tt is also important, and essential to the highest wel- 



128 THE MESSAGE^BEARER 

fare of ourselves and the cause, to be in full submis- 
sion to our church. Such admonitions as, "submit- 
ting yourselves one to another/' "obey them that 
have the rule over you," "yea, all of you be subject 
one to another," were not written by chance. They 
are the words of inspiration and breathe out the wis- 
dom of God. That member is worth most to God 
and the Church who yields full and unquestioning 
submission to both. 

5. Loyalty. — Under this head we mean to make 
another speech on obedience, only in another form. 
The loyal worker sees, in the first place, that he be- 
longs to a church in which he can be thoroughly 
loyal to both Christ and the church of which he is a 
member. The idea of "any church will do" has no 
scriptural support. Any church will do in which you 
can, in preaching the whole church creed, at the 
same time preach the entire Gospel of Jesus Christ. 
If not, then either your church needs a working 
over or you need to look for another church home. 
That point settled, the loyal worker is faithful in 
reading and obeying Scripture, in church atten- 
dance, in church support, in active Christian service, 
having an attitude of submission to God' and the 
Church, willing to be used in whatever capacity that 
God and the Church may see fit to use him. Broth- 
er, is there any flaw to your loyalty? 

6. Burden for Souls. — Paul was willing to be 
accursed from God if by that means his kinsmen in 
the flesh might be won for God. There was an over- 
flowing desire in his heart to win as many as pos- 
sible for the Master, and this accounted for his 
self-sacrificing life and constant strenuous service. 



QUALIFICATIONS 129 

When his work at one place was at an end, he im- 
mediately looked for other open doors through 
which he might walk and win other souls for God. 
It was his great burden for souls that made him the 
tireless worker that he was. He was one who never 
lost his "first love." In this we do well to remember 
the admonition, "Be ye followers of me, even as I 
also am of Christ/' Paul was certainly a follower of 
Christ in the matter of being burdened for the wel- 
fare of souls. Was it not this burden that moved 
Him to leave the courts of glory and spend His life 
and service in the great cause of salvation? It takes 
this burning, fiery zeal, this great passion for the 
rescue of lost and dying souls, that prompts a man 
to do his best for the Lord. "Therefore, my beloved 
brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abound- 
ing in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know 
that your labor is not in vain in the Lord/' 

7. Lover of Good Things. — Paul mentions "a 
lover of good men" as one of the qualifications of 
the bishop. We have in mind the same qualifica- 
tion for missionaries, only in the application of this, 
quality we wish to include other things besides 
people. The true missionary has a conception of 
that which is purest and holiest and best. He recog- 
nizes and appreciates noble qualities in others,, and 
longs for the purest and best to shine out through 
his own life. He longs for "the deep things of God" 
as revealed in His Word, and he is constantly search- 
ing in this sacred message for things not yet fully 
brought to light in his own life and experience. He 
loves associations that are pure and good, and the 
work of helping fellow men to a higher plane of liv- 



i 3 o THE M ESS AGE-B BARER 

ing calls for his most enthusiastic efforts. The 
practical value of having a clear conception of that 
which is best and noblest and true is evident from 
the fact that we invariably encourage and foster in 
others the things which we admire. Thirsting for 
the best and longing to help others in seeking and 
maintaining the very best and highest of life's bless- 
ings, there is in every lover of good things a zeal 
and an inspiration and an uplifting influence that is 
not found among those who are more indifferent in 
the matter of attaining the bes,t to be had. 

Questions 

1. What is spirituality? 

2. Distinguish between walking in the flesh 
and in the Spirit. Rom. 8:1. 

3. Describe what you conceive to be an ideal 
missionary. 

4. What does the Holy Ghost contribute to the 
life of the worker? 

5. What has sacrifice to do with the life of the 
missionary? 

6. How may the Church help the missionary, 
and the missionary help the Church? 

7. Do results justify the sacrifices required for 
successful missionary work? 

8. To what extent are God and man responsible 
for the qualifications enumerated in this chapter? 



CHAPTER IV 

THE HOLY LIFE 

Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy 
nation, a peculiar people. — I Pet. 2:9. 
And holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord. 
— Heb. 12:14. 

In considering the qualifications of an ideal 
Christian worker one's mind is naturally drawn to 
the holy life. It is one of the most beautiful and 
fascinating themes that it was ever the privilege of 
man to consider. Let us thank God for the priv- 
ilege, and take an hour in studying this subject to- 
gether. The theme means all the more to us as we 
remember that — 

1. God commands it. Hear the words, of the 
Lord: "Be ye holy, for I am holy." "Be ye holy, 
for I am the Lord your God." Without holiness, 
we are told, "no man shall see the Lord." Peter 
refers to the people of God as "an holy nation." It 
is idle for an unholy man to count himself a child 
of God, for the Bible makes no such provisions. 

2. It must be experienced to be appreciated. 
When Christ said, "I have meat to eat that ye know 
not of," He set the others, to wondering what He 
meant, but they could only guess. So with the holy 
life; many who discuss it are simply guessing at 
their subject, for they are without experience. The 
child of God may point to heart experience and 
speak of a richness of soul which they who are with- 
out experience know nothing of. There is an unholy 



132 THE MESSAGE-BEARER 

and an empty rattle about the testimony of people 
professing holiness when their lives contradict their 
professions. 

3. It admits into the fulness of joy. In this 
connection it is well to notice one of the devil's big 
lies. Somehow he has gotten many people to look 
upon the holy life, as being an agonizing life. To 
have "a good time/' they look toward the world; to 
get to heaven, they admit that it is better to be a 
little pious. Many young people have been deceived 
with this satanic vision. They long for "social gath- 
erings" without any religion in them. To them, re- 
ligious services are "dry" unless there is plenty of 
entertainment connected with them. But even the 
driest of religious services can be endured with 
patience if their afternoons of frolic and fun are not 
interfered with too seriously. With them it is, the 
world for pleasure, religion to get to heaven on. 

It is not hard to determine in whose den such 
ideals were hatched out. The holy life is something 
serious, but it is more; it is intensely soul-satisfying, 
as every one will tell you who has had a real taste 
of it. What it means, for its possessor will be told 
later in the chapter. Only the child of God can 
speak of an experience described as a "joy unspeak- 
able and full of glory. Fulness of joy is the happy 
lot of those in whose hearts the love of God abounds. 

4. It ennobles the life. The path of holiness is 
the path upward, for it is the path of Christian 
growth in all that pertains, to purity and godliness 
and usefulness. They who are habitually pure and 
true and virtuous and sympathetic and upright and 



THE HOLY LIFE 133 

God-fearinig and worshipful enjoy a continual growth 
along every line of Christian virtue. 

5. It enhances usefulness. Worldlings usually 
seek their kind when they wish to indulge the de- 
sires of the flesh, but when they want real solid 
counsel they invariably seek the counsel of those 
whom they believe to be consistent in Christian life. 
It was to men like Joseph and Moses and Elisha 
and Daniel that men in trouble would go for help. 
The same is true today. When real work is re- 
quired, it is the holy men of God who are called 
upon to do it. 

The holy life is the only kind of life worth 
thinking about for pleasure, for growth, for purity, 
tor health, for fellowship, for usefulness, for final 
reward, for anything worth having. Many who 
recognize this truth are missing life's richest bless- 
ings because they are not doing as well as they 
know. 

Let us notice briefly what the holy life includes: 

1. Godliness, — Man is a finite likeness of an 
infinite God. "Be ye holy, for I am holy/' is simply 
an invitation on the part of the Infinite for finite 
man to rise to his privilege and duty. To be godly 
means to be like Him in purity, in goodness, in love, 
in righteousness, in every Christian virtue. 

2. Spirituality. — "Who walk not after the flesh, 
but after the Spirit," is the way Paul describes those 
not under the bondage of sin. Spirituality means, 
more than correct Christian living; it means to be 
Spirit-filled, Spirit-enli'ghtened, Spirit-led, Spirit-con- 
trolled. It means that we look at all things from 
the heavenly viewpoint, that our affections are set 



134 THE MESSAGE-BEARER 

on things above, that we deny the flesh and live to 
the glory of God. It means, also, a number of 
other things that will be discussed in succeeding 
paragraphs. 

3. Consecration — "Ye are not your own ; for ye 
are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in 
your body." "Present your bodies a living sacrifice, 
holy, acceptable unto God." In this case "holy" 
might have been spelled "wholly" without changing 
the meaning. When Christ said, "I must be about 
my Father's business," He not only laid down a rule 
of life for Himself but for every consecrated child of 
God as well. Body, mind, soul, we are the Lord's,; 
and our lives, to be consistent, are "holy, acceptable 
unto God." 

4. Obedience. — Obedience is a necessary part 
, consecration. No man has ever been dedicated to 

any cause but that he was subject to those who had 
the cause in hand. No man has ever been consecrat- 
ed to God without being obedient to God in heart 
and life. As, soon as Isaiah was cleansed he was 
ready to respond to the call of the Lord. Obedience 
is one of the marks of "holiness unto the Lord." 
The Holy Spirit is given "to them that obey him." 

5. Purity. — "How shall we that are dead to sin 
live any longer therein?" "If we walk in the light 

as he is in the light the blood of Jesus Christ 

his Son cleanseth us from all sin." When Paul de- 
scribed the Christian people and their duties (Tit. 
2:11-14) he first spoke of them being "purified" be- 
fore he said anything about them being "a peculiar 
people." Pure thought, pure speech, pure associa- 
tions, pure social relations, pure business ethics, pure 



THE HOLY LIFE 135 

desires, pure worship, a record pure from unright- 
eousness and uncleanness, a life "unspotted from 
the world," all belong to the holy life. 

6. Given to Prayer. — It is as natural for the 
child of God to pray as it is for the natural man to 
breathe. No breath, naturally, means death. No 
prayer means spiritual death. Looking Bibleward, 
God talks to us; looking heavenward, we meditate 
upon what He said to us, talk to Him in the lan- 
guage of prayer. The closer our connection with 
God the oftener and more fervently we pray.| 

7. Worship. — This also is a vital part of the 
holy life. "Holiness unto the Lord" means not only 
a sanctified soul but also a soul filled with reverence 
and adoration for the Sanctifier. In this connection 
it is well to remember that one can not be a wor- 
shiper of Jehovah and a worshiper of some idol or 
idols at the same time, even if this idol is so im- 
portant a being as self or pelf. "Ye can not serve 
God and Mammon." "If any man love the world, 
the love of the Father is not in him." Idolaters may 
worship many gods, (even the God of heaven, as did 
Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar) but the true wors'hip- 
er of the great Jehovah can worship no other gods 
but Him. Another tlhoug 1 ht worthy of notice is that 
we invariably become like the Being or beings or 
objects that we worship. Thus, the true worshiper 
of God becomes more and more like Him, shining 
more and more in the beauty of holiness. 

8. Righteousness. — While there may be upright 
living without holiness, there can be no holiness 
without upright living. When the Holy Ghost has 
possession of a business man's heart you will detect 



136 THE MESSAGE-BEARER 

no deception, no chicanery, no sharp business deals 
about this man's life. A lying tongue, a covetous 
heart, and a holy life are never found to belong to 
the same individual. The man who must be watched 
in his business and social relations needs conversion, 
to say nothing about sanctification. 

9. "Joy in the Holy Ghost/' — We are coming 
back to an old subject. Happiness belongs to the 
sanctified life. Even in the midst of the greatest 
tribulations the children of God enjoy a comforting 
peace to which the world is a stranger. "In the 
world ye shall have tribulation," s<aid Christ to His 
disciples, "but be of good cheer, I have overcome 
the world." This promise reaches us in the midst 
of the bitterest persecutions: "Rejoice, and be ex- 
ceeding glad ; for great is your reward in heav- 
en." "Great peace have they which love thy law." 
Stephen, in the midst of the crushing stones, showed 
by the angelic look upon his countenance that he 
had the joy of heaven in his soul. And it was not 
simply a joy which vanished with the passing of the 
fleeting thin'gs of earth, but a joy which he carried 
to the other shore. If then the Christian's joy is a 
thrilling reality even in the midst of tribulations, it 
is none the less soul-satisfying when there is peace 
physically as well as spiritually. 

But we insist that it is worse than folly to seek 
our pleasures in the forbidden fields of foolishness 
and ungodliness and unrighteousness. As for pleas- 
ure, that is simply emotion. Two men testify that 
on a certain night they had the time of their lives — 
one at a prayer meeting, the other at a grog shop. 
They may both be sincere, and one mav have en- 



THE HOLY LIFE 137 

joyed himself as much as the other. The pleasures 
were simply emotions they experienced as they came 
in touch with something that satisfied — for the mo- 
ment. But there still remains the important fact 
that back of these emotions was something that left 
its impress upon the soul — the first a heavenly influ- 
ence, the second a hellish influence. The first was 
the joy of the Hoi}' Ghost, the second a cup of pleas- 
ure chat leaves its, bitter dregs. Holiness not only 
fits the soul for the eternal courts above but in this 
life contributes to a fullness of joy. 

10. The blessed Hope. — We have already de- 
voted a whole chapter to this subject. We refer to 
it here, because it belongs to the holy life. No man 
has ever been thrilled with the consciousness of the 
celestial glory to come but whose soul was also filled 
with a most delightsome pleasure. The thought of 
"at thy right hand are pleasures for evermore' 1 
brings a foretaste of these pleasures to the one who 
meditates upon them with a fervent hope here. 

Is the holy life worth the living? 

There remains one more question that may be 
on the minds of some : How attain and maintain the 
holy life? 

We will answer this question briefly by saying 
that if we comply with God's conditions we need not 
be concerned about the experience. Our part is, to 
believe, to accept, to obey. God's part is to dispense 
the blessings. In Acts 5 :32 we are assured that God 
will give the Holy Ghost "to them that obey him." 
The trembling jailor was assured that if he believed 
in the Lord Jesus Christ he should be saved. Peter 
assured the inquirers on the day of Pentecost that if 



1 38 THE MESSAGE-BEARER 

they repented and were baptized the gift of the Holy 
Ghost wotild be a sure thing. The Bible is full of 
assurances that if we simply take God at His Word 
and obey Him it will be well with us both here and 
hereafter. 

Questions 

1. Give definition of Bible holiness. 

2. What are the characteristics of a 'holy life? 

3. Compare worldly pleasure with the "joy in 
the Holy Ghost." 

4. Compare self-righteousness with the "right- 
eousness which is by faith." 

5. What is gained by living the holy life? 

6. What is, lost by giving up a life of sin? 

7. Why are there so few who appreciate living 
the consecrated life? 

8. Compare the life of the unsaved moralist 
with the life of the "sinner saved by grace." 

9. If all professing Christians lived the holy 
life, what would be the effect upon world evangeliza- 
tion? 



CHAPTER V 

HELPS AND HINDRANCES 

Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a 

curse; a blessing if ye obey.... a curse, if ye will not 

obey. — Deut. 1 1 126-28. 

Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. — I Thes. 

5:21. 

The things mentioned in this chapter may be 
helps or hindrances to the worker and the cause, de- 
pending upon circumstances, and upon the attitude 
of the individual. We shall notice them but briefly, 
as the reader has access to a fuller discussion of 
them in other books. 

Support 

We are dependent and interdependent creatures. 
The human mind is so constituted that it craves the 
sympathy and support of others. In what form this 
support is to be desired or given — sympathy, prayers, 
physical comfort, money, helpful instructions, etc. — 
depends upon circumstances ; but whatever the form 
may be, the moral support conveyed through sym- 
pathetic interest is quite as, helpful as any material 
aid that can be mentioned. The average worker 
feels more like throwing his whole life into an enter- 
prise when he feels that he has the support of others 
than when he must reflect at all times that he is 
doing a "thankless job" and with the results doubt- 
ful. 

This, is but natural. We are human, just as 



140 THE MESSAGE-BEARER 

God has created us. Even the stout-hearted Paul 
"thanked God and took courage" on one occasion, 
and on other occasions thanked his brethren for giv- 
ing him aid. Support means encouragement and 
encouragement means strength. Elijah was not jus- 
tified by getting under the juniper tree, but the fact 
of his being there showed the possibility of a strong 
man being put out of business for the Lord because 
of lack of adequate su'pport at the hands of his .fel- 
low laborers. Doubtless God had a purpose in thus 
making His creatures, interdependent. 

But there are circumstances in Which support is 
a real hindrance. There are people looking for 
financial support from others who would be worth 
more to God and man if they would see to getting 
their own finances. It is so easy for us to forget 
that our real help comes from the Lord, and that 
our responsibility for providing for our material 
support ceases only when we are so fully occupied 
in direct work for the Lord that it is physically im- 
possible to earn our material support and at the 
same time attend to our spiritual duties. Self- 
reliance is an important factor in successful Chris- 
tian work. We are always safe in figuring on this : 
When the Lord calls, us to a certain work, and we 
are faithful to the call, the kind of support we will 
get, material and otherwise, will be the kind which 
God knows will bring best results under the circum- 
stances. The promise of God is, "I will never leave 
thee nor forsake thee." We can take this promise 
at face value and press on. 

Education 

There are several reasons why a practical educa- 



HELPS AND HINDRANCES 141 

tion enhances the usefulness of the worker. "Knowl- 
edge is power. " A trained mind accomplishes more 
than an untrained one. Knowing how means much 
in the race of life. Preparation for special service 
fits one for the duties of that specialty. Training 
helps one to become methodical, thoughtful, re- 
served, resourceful, talented, prompt, skillful, and 
increases the power of endurance. And whether 
this training is had in a school between four walls 
or in the school of experience, the facts are the same. 
These facts are so well known that they need only 
to be mentioned to impress us with the importance 
of making adequate preparation for our calling. 
Parents should see that their children get the train- 
ing, and young people should be diligent in improv- 
ing the excellent opportunities afforded at the pres- 
ent time. 

But this is not a one-sided question. The side 
which we have given is complete, and without modi- 
fications; but some have acquired what people call 
an education, and both they and the world would 
have been better off if they had never seen the inside 
of a school. Let it be understood, in the first place, 
that the atmosphere which permeates, a higher in- 
stitution of learning is quite different from the air 
which the masses breathe. It is easy, therefore, for 
a young man or woman to be educated so far away 
from their former associates and c'hurch that they 
are completely out of touch with them and therefore 
their influence and usefulness are impaired. Another 
deplorable fact is that many schools, are saturated 
with liberalism, which has made shipwreck of the 
faith of many young people. These facts emphasize 



142 THE MESSAGE-BEARER 

the importance of two things in connection with the 
education of our young people: 

1. That they be kept in the closest possible 
touch with their home church and associations while 
attending school away from home. 

2. That great care be exercised in the selection 
of the school, making sure that the standards and 
ideals of the school square up with the standards 
and ideals of the Bible and of the Churc'h. 

Marriage 

"Marriage is honourable in all." It is an ad- 
vantage to Christian workers, where they choose 
wisely and well; a disadvantage, when they are un- 
fortunate in their choice of companions,. Following 
are a few points to take into consideration : 

1. Under no circumstances should the instruc- 
tions of the Bible against mixed marriages be dis- 
obeyed. 

2. Choice of life companions should be made 
not only among those who are "of like precious 
faith" but those also who have views of life similar 
to our own and whose convictions and fitness takes 
them into the same occupations. There has been 
many a misfit in marriage because one was mission- 
ary inclined while the other's tastes and convictions 
led to other pursuits in life. 

3. Care should be exercised that the choice is 
not dictated wholly by the fact that here are two 
whose life plans take them into the same field. This 
is important, but there are other things more im- 
portant. 



HELPS AND HINDRANCES 143 

4. Hasty engagements, as well as hasty mar- 
riages,, are unwise. 

5. A promise of marriage is most sacred. Many 
who would otherwise have been useful in the service 
of God have had their lives blasted because they 
broke engagements because of the charms of others 
who were nearer to them. 

6. It is better to remain unmarried all your life 
than to be mismated. 

7. Consult the Lord at every step. 

Settled Convictions 

Decision of character is a positive help in any 
one's life. Many have failed in life because they 
never quite knew what they wanted. No sooner had 
they made up their minds what they were going to 
do than another notion struck them and their plans 
were entirely changed. This unsettled, changeable, 
fickle, cross-purpose, wavering, wandering policy of 
life is, fruitful of the worst kind of failure. Our 
young people should seek early in life to form settled 
habits, living to a fixed purpose. The young man 
or woman who, having prayerfully considered life's 
problems and opportunities, carefully studied his or 
her peculiar talents and environments, and after 
proper counsel and guidance decides upon a life 
course and makes, preparations for it, has a decided 
advantage over those who follow the "hit or miss" 
way of doing things. The worker who makes a life 
work of what he undertakes accomplishes more than 
does the one of like talents Who changes work with 
every change of the wind. The worker with settled 
convictions who is never changed in principle and 



144 THE MESSAGE-BEARER 

not easily changed with reference to plans, is one 
who can be depended upon for substantial service. 
"Be sure you are right, and then go ahead," is good 
advice. It squares up with the words of inspiration, 
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." 

On the other hand, it is possible to make this, 
very admirable trait of character an actual hindrance 
to the best interests of the cause. What would have 
been the result had Paul, on the Damascus road, 
refused to listen to anything but to go on in his 
course? or, later in life, when warned not to preach 
in Asia, would have decided that since preaching is 
a good work he would keep on preaching in Asia? 
What would have been the result had Moses insisted 
on claiming the crown of Egypt? or, later in life, 
when he heard the message from the burning bush, 
would have insisted that since he was so old he 
would just keep on herding flocks as long as he 
could crawl? Many have taken just such a course in 
life. They have fastened themselves to a farm or a 
trade or a profession, and all that God or the Church 
may say does not budge them from their determina- 
tion to go on just as they had planned for life. No 
one who is fully upon the altar of the Lord is so 
fully rooted to cherished plans (however excellent 
and praiseworthy these plans may be) but that he 
is willing to change at the voice of God and the 
Church. 

Keep your ear heavenward and Churchward, if 
you would keep your soul healthy and your life open 
for usefulness in its highest form. 

The Bible plan on this question is conceived in 
divine wisdom. This is, the dispensation of the Holy 



HELPS AND HINDRANCES 145 

Ghost. The overseers are set apart to their work 
through the ministration of the Holy Ghost. The 
church that recognizes this Holy Ghost power and 
authority will in turn be recognized by the Almighty 
Spirit. The members who recognize this plan of 
Providence respect those whom the Holy Ghost has 
set over them and in turn, placing themselves into 
an attiude of perfect submission to the Holy Spirit 
and the Spirit-guided Church, find themselves in 
positions where they can be of the greatest possible 
s.ervice to God and the Church. 

Occupation 

The minister who said, ''My business is to 
preach the Gospel ; I farm for a living/' gave voice 
to a very vital Gospel principle. We get our sus- 
tenance from the earth. We owe our life and service 
to God. No one should ever get away from the 
divine edict, "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat 
bread." That does not mean that it is wrong to 
accept financial s.upport while engaged in the work 
of the Lord, but it does mean that every able-bodied 
worker approved of the Lord is a hard-working man 
or woman. 

Our business is to serve the Lord. That is a 
duty that belongs to every twice-born son and 
daughter of God, regardless of what may be his 
place in the Church. Our service, like our salvation, 
is free. We are the Lord's,, "bought with a price. " 
When the Lord calls we should do like the fisher- 
men of Galilee, respond immediately and without 
question. No matter how far the call may reach — 
to the kitchen, to the farm, to the shop, to the home 



i 4 6 THE MESSAGE-BEARER 

community, to neglected nearby communities, across 
the plains or across the waters; to the ministry, to 
the school room, to the mission station, to other 
church institutions — let us immediately and unhesi- 
tatingly obey the call, being assured only that the 
call is really from God. Our business is to serve 
the Lord. That is life's occupation. 

Then we have another business — secondarily, of 
course, but our business just the same — "In the 
sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread." It should 
be a part of our life plan to provide ways and means 
of providing for ourselves and our own, materially 
as well as spiritually. If the Lord calls, away from 
secular employment, so that it is not possible to 
earn our bread, the Lord will also make provisions 
for our bodily sustenance, according to promise. 
But wherever there is an opening let us not make 
ourselves, chargeable to others when we can relieve 
them of that burden. There is a blessing in it for 
us as well as for the cause. 

Our occupation as workers for the Lord should 
in no way be confused or entangled with secular 
callings. Some look at it in this way : "Your busi- 
ness, is to be a preacher or missionary, mine is to 
engage in some secular calling. It is your business 
to work for the Lord, it is my business to make 
money to support my family and yours ; your busi- 
ness to be a consecrated child of God, I don't need 
to be s,o particular about it." That kind of a view 
of life has done all kinds of mischief. The Lord's 
work is for everybody and is to be in no way con- 
nected with life's avocations one object of which is 
to provide for material support. The Lord's work 



HELPS AND HINDRANCES 147 

is no more the minister's or missionary's business 
than it is the business of any other church member. 
The only difference there ought to be among mem- 
bers is that while some are so exclusively engaged 
in the direct work of the Lord that they can not 
possibly earn their own financial s,upport others are 
in position that they can make money and help bear 
the financial burdens of those who are deprived of 
that privilege. This does not lessen the obligations 
of money-makers toward those workers who are 
deprived of the privilege of making money, but it 
does help people to keep from commercializing 
Christian work and justifying worldliness and indif- 
ference on the part of those not so fully occupied in 
the direct work of the Lord. 

Our business is to serve the Lord. Let us do it 
with our whole heart, go wherever the Lord calls, 
and stick to it to the end. 

Summary 

Thus we might go on indefinitely discussing the 
helps, and hindrances in the lives and labors of faith- 
ful workers. Space will not permit of an extended 
discussion, but a brief summary may be a help in 
the way of making the most of our helps as well as 
steering clear of hindrances. 

It is a positive help to every missionary — 

1. To know that there are others whos,e sym- 
pathies, prayers, and pocketbooks are enlisted in the 
same cause. 

2. To be the possessor of an education which 
especially fits him or her for the line of work in 
which he or she is engaged. 



148 THE MESSAGE-BEARER 

•3. To have the spirit of consecration, self- 
reliance, and energy needed for successful work. 

4. To be either well mated in the marriage re- 
lation, or unmarried rather than unequally yoked 
together with unbelievers. There are certain lines 
of Christian work that can be done better by un- 
married than married people. 

5. To have a record which could be truthfully 
described in the language of Paul to Timothy: 
"From a child thou hast known the holy scriptures. " 

6. To be the possessor of a mind that is not 
easily changed, and yet pliable in the hands of God 
and the Church. 

7. To know how to make his or her own liv- 
ing when occasion requires. 

8. To have the story of the Gospel at tongue's 
end. 

9. To be armed with truth and talent, and con- 
sistent living, to the end that gainsayers may be 
silenced and seekers after truth may receive what 
they desire and need. 

10. To live a life of freedom from every sin 
and alliance with worldliness, in any form. 

It is a positive hindrance to every missionary — 

1. To be so dependent upon others that de- 
pendence upon God is lost sight of. 

2. To be educated out of touch with the mass- 
es, especially the common people. 

3. To be mismated in marriage. 

4. To be unequally yoked together with unbe- 
lievers in social or business relations, or in any ways 
entangled with the affairs of this world. 






HELPS AND HINDRANCES 149 

5. To have only a scanty knowledge of the 
Bible and little taste for reading it. 

6. To be fidkle-minded so as to be blown about 
with every wind, or so set in his or her own ways 
that the voice of neither God nor the Church can 
change it. 

7. To have a record that belies and over- 
shadows, all good professions. 

8. To be weak in faith or wavering in church 
loyalty. 

9. To be a lover of ease or pleasure, an ad- 
mirer of the dazzling things of this world. 

10. To have the mind only, and not the heart 
and soul, in mission work. 

Questions 

1. When is a blessing from God a help? a 
hindrance? 

2. What do you understand by "blessings in 
disguise?'' 

3. Discuss the theme, "Preparation for Serv- 
ice." 

4. Discuss proper and improper marriages. 

5. How may we know when the Lord calls us 
to a special line of work? 

6. By what means may we succeed in getting 
all our young people upon the altar of the Lord? 

7. When the Church opposes my plans, what 
is my duty? 

8. Is there such a thing as "conflicting duties ?" 
Explain. 



CHAPTER VI 

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS FOR MISSION- 
ARIES 

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman 
that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the 
word of truth. — II Tim. 2:15. 

The question may arise in the minds of some, 
What place has a book that is largely doctrinal in 
a mission study course? We answer: Our Savior's 
Great Commission to the Church is largely doctrinal. 
There are three things which the missionary must 
know to accomplish best results : the Bible, the field, 
and how to adapt himself or herself to environments 
so as to bring the message of the Bible with strong- 
est appeal to the people who are to be won for 
Christ and salvation. This book is intended to cover 
part of this ground. And now, in conclusion, may 
we submit for your consideration the following sug- 
gestions : 

1. That you make a prayerful effort to get the 
Bible on the end of your tongue. 

This can be done, in time, by forming the habit 
of daily Bible reading and meditation, by putting 
into daily practice, what you have learned, by acquir- 
ing the habit of ready testimony. All thes,e things 
have the effect of familiarizing us with the Word 
and giving us the capacity of quoting Scripture 
readily and accurately. The advantages of having a 
ready command of Scripture are immeasurable. The 
Word of God is referred to in Scripture as "the 



THOUGHTS FOR MISSIONARIES 151 

sword of the Spirit." The more readily we can 
handle this weapon the greater our power in "con- 
vincing the gainsayers" and winning souls for the 
Master. 

2. That you studiously and prayerfully apply 
yourself to the task of making your daily life con- 
form to the Gospel which you proclaim. 

Naturally the life of the missionary is accepted 
as an interpretation of the Gospel which he brings. 
As the world sees the daily life of the Christian it 
is of immense advantage if this life is a correct in- 
terpretation of what the Bible teaches. This thought 
has been touched upon in preceding chapters, and 
is here repeated for emphasis. 

As an illustration showing the importance of 
this point, let us suppose a case. We might adapt 
the illustration to any body of Christian people, but 
as in all probability these pages will be read by more 
Mennonites than any other class, we will fit the 
speech to them — that is,, inconsistent members among 
them. 

Let us suppose that a small body of Mennonites 
are appointed missionaries to some heathen country ; 
that upon their arrival there the following conversa- 
tion takes place with a prince who had previously 
spent a number of years in America. He asks,: 

"Who are you? ,, 

"We are a band of missionaries who have come 
to bring you the Gospel. " 

"What church do you represent?" 

"We are Mennonites." 

"Mennonites? What do they believe?" 



152 THE MESSAGE-BEARER 

"Among other things, we believe in living the 
holy life." 

"Then why are you not more prayerful, devout, 
God-fearing; and why do you take so much delight 
in the things which your God says are wrong and 
sinful? What else do you believe ?" 

"We believe in nonresistance." 

"If you believe war to be wrong, we will expect 
you to quit warring with your mouth. What else 
do you believe ?" 

"We believe in nonconformity to the world in 
dress. ,, 

"Do other American churches, and other Ameri- 
cans that belong to no church, believe in this?" 

"Not many of them do." 

"Then why do you, who believe in noncon- 
formity, dress just like those who say that they do 
not believe in it? What else do you believe?" 

"We believe that the righteous will spend eter- 
nity in heaven and the unrighteous will sipend eter- 
nity in hell." 

"And do you actually believe that and yet make 
so little effort to tell the lost world about it? Why 
are you so indifferent about it?" 

How much better it would be, both for the 
cause of Christ and for the influence of these mis- 
sionaries, if this chief could make this kind of a 
speech to his people: 

"Friends, I spent years in America and knew 
these people there. I know them to be true as s,teel. 
You can depend upon every word they say, for they 
never say anything but the truth. Their life is like 






THOUGHTS FOR MISSIONARIES 153 

the Gospel which they preach. I advise you to lis- 
ten to their story." 

May our lives be such that not only supposed 
heathen princes but everybody that knows us well 
can give us that kind of a recommendation. 

3. That you remain hidden in Christ. 

It is impossible for the faithful worker to apply 
himself to his task year after year without results. 
The promise is, "Your labor is not in vain in the 
Lord." Sometimes, as in the case of John the Bap- 
tist, the success, is so marked that people begin to 
sound the praises of the faithful worker for Jesus. 
There is where the successful worker needs to set 
himself like steel against the deceptive influences, of 
flattery. "Never lose sight of the cross. " Many 
have made an excellent start in the Christian service 
and accomplished great things for God — only to fall 
victims of flattery, nursing their reputation rather 
than working for the Lord, loving the praises of men 
rather than giving their lives in the cause of leading 
men to sound the praises of God. Like John the 
Baptist, we should never think of anything but to be 
a "voice" for God, pointing souls to Jesus, and 
spending our lives in His service. 

4. That you remember your calling. 

The missionary is, the mediator between God 
and the lost world. Our work is to bring lost souls 
and Christ together; also through labor and prayer 
and influence to keep them together. There are 
many things connected with the missionary's life 
which tend to discourage the faint-hearted. The de- 
pravity of man, the ingratitude of many for whom 
we made sacrifices, the criticisms of friends who 



154 THE MESSAGE-BEARER 

misunderstand our motives and our circumstances, 
persecutions for righteousness' sake, the weariness 
of the flesh, our own shortcomings, and many other 
things might be mentioned in the way of enumerat- 
ing discouragements. But the more completely we 
are absorbed in our work the less these things dis- 
turb us. The more fully our hearts are set on win- 
ning souls for the Master the more fully in love with 
our work we remain. Think of the transformed lives 
in time, the golden sheaves at the Master's great 
harvest at the end of the world, and the glad halle- 
lujahs in eternity, and you have inspiration enough 
to stick to your job to the end of your life. 

5. That you keep your eye on the practical side 
of life. 

Dreams have their place, but day-dreams are not 
worth entertaining. The world that is just aching 
for the Gospel and praying that some missionaries 
might come to teach them the way of salvation does 
not exist. Even a genuine conversion does not do 
away with a body of flesh that needs to be kept 
under and held under subjection. When we are 
sent forth as "lambs among wolves" let us never 
forget that both we and the people with whom we 
labor are human beings, and need watching and pray- 
ing for, in order to be kept in line with the Gospel. 
Let us face the world as it is, obey God's command- 
ments and remember His promises, live a practical 
life, and we have the right to expect practical results. 

6. That you keep your affections set upon 
things above. 

Sometimes one who is betrothed, because of 
improper associations with others, loses his affec- 



THOUGHTS FOR MISSIONARIES 155 

tions for his fiance and proves unfaithful to his vow. 
Missionaries, like other Christian workers, are some- 
times estranged from the cause of Christ because of 
too intimate associations . with the world. Many 
have "left their first love" because of worldly asso- 
ciations, so that after years of service they are 
estranged from God and the Church — or at least 
cooled off to an extent that their services are of an 
inferior and ineffectual kind. Read Jas. 4:4. So 
while our feet should be kept upon the earth (until 
God sees fit to remove them) let our affections and 
our conversation be in heaven. It takes the heaven- 
ward look to keep the soul filled with affections for 
things above. 

7. That you remember "the four alls" of the 
Great Commission. 

It was the assurance of Jesus that "all power," 
in heaven and on earth, is committed unto Him. 

Acting upon this authority, He commissions the 
Church to teach the Gospel to "all nations/' to 
''preach the gospel to every creature/' Our work is 
not done until "the glad tidings of salvation" has 
been brought to the ears of every man, woman, and 
child in every nation. 

That no one may get the idea that our work is 
done when we publish the name of Jesus (usually, 
Jesus the man) throughout the world, Christ is care- 
ful to command us to teach "all things whatsoever" 
He commanded us. The whole Gospel, including all 
the Savior's commandments, must be taught, obeyed 
by ourselves, and enjoined upon all men everywhere. 
The greatest curse of the modern Church is a com- 



156 THE MESSAGE-BEARER 

promise religion — a Christianity with the command- 
ments and the blood of Christ left out. 

The fourth all is another assurance. Jes,us will 
be with us "alway, even unto the end of the world/' 
provided we are faithful in obeying His command 
to evangelize the world. 

Questions 

1. What, in your opinion, are the missionary's 
greatest needs? 

2. Why should missionaries make this, their life 
work? 

3. Name some dangers besetting the life of the 
missionary. 

4. Discuss the theme, Joys and Sorrows of the 
Missionary. 

5. How may the great Go^ *1 field be more 
fully supplied with laborers? 

6. Is it possible to evangelize the woix 1 in the 
present generation? How? 






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